366 
ZOOLOGY. 
AMIA 0CCIDENTALIS, DeKay. 
Western Mud-fish; Dog-fish. 
Sp. Ch. —Base of caudal fin without spot of any kind. Head constituting nearly the fifth of the total length. Insertion 
of ventrals nearly equidistant between the base of the caudal and the extremity of the snout. Anterior margin of the anal 
fin nearly equidistant, also, between the base of the pectorals and the posterior edge of the caudal fin. 
Syn.— Amia Occidentalis, DeKay, New Y. Faun. IY, 1842,269 ; pi. xxxix,fig. 125.—Cuv. & Val. Hist. Nat. Poiss. XTX, 
1846,429.— Grd. Gen. Rep. Fishes, 350. 
At the time I was in Minnesota I considered that these fish belonged to but one species—the 
last—and consequently made no special notes regarding the present kind. I think it probable 
that upon future investigation they will prove to be the same. 
ACCIPENSER TRANSMONTANUS, Richards. 
Columbia River Sturgeon. 
Syn. — Aaipenser transmontanus, Richards. Faun. Bor. Amer. Ill, 1836,278, pi. xcvii, fig. 2.— DeKay, New Y. Faun. IV, 
1842, 317.— Storer, Synops. 1846,248.— Grd. in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VIII, 1856,137. 
This sturgeon is very common in the Columbia and its larger branches. At Port Dalles they 
arrive at about the middle of February, and are caught with hooks by the natives in moderate 
numbers. I suppose that, owing to the low stage of the river, they are not able to overcome 
the Dalles falls until about the middle of May. They are taken late in the season high up on 
Snake river, and I have heard of a single individual which was there taken near Fort Boise 
which was fifteen feet in length. They are excellent eating, and are for that purpose justly 
prized by the Indians, who sell them, when scarce, at very high prices, charging a half dollar 
frequently for a small piece, scarcely weighing over a pound; indeed, the natives will 
frequently give a good pony in trade for a large sturgeon. 
An individual obtained for me at Fort Dalles had the back slate-brown; spots on top of the 
head, dingy white ; iris, golden bronze; chin and belly, white. 
CHIMAERA COLLIEI, Benn. 
, Elephant-Fish ; the Skooma, 
Sp. Cii.—H ead constituting about the sixth of the total length. First dorsal fin sub-triangular ; the upper margin, which 
is directed posteriorly, being crescent-shaped, whilst the posterior margin, properly so to be called, is horizontal and parallel 
with the back, to which it is united by a thin membrane. Second dorsal quite low and elongated, its origin being nearly 
opposite the insertion of the ventrals, which is nearly halfway between the apex of the snout and the origin of the caudal 
fin. Its upper margin is undulating. Either lobe of the caudal tapering regularly away towards the tip of the tail, the 
lower lobe extending somewhat further back. Skin perfectly smooth ; brownish above ; dull white beneath ; the back and 
sides exhibiting numerous dull white rounded spots, variable in size. 
Syn.— Chimaera colliei, Benn. in Zool. Beechey's Voy. to the Pacif. 1839, 71. Plate xxiii, figs. 1 and 2. —Richards. Faun. 
Bor. Amer. Ill, 1836, 285 .—Grd. Gen. Rep. Fishes, 360. 
Elephant-fish, Vancouver. 
Skooma, Nisqually Indians. 
The elephant-fish is truly a curiosity to those who have never before seen it. It is quite 
abundant on Puget Sound, where it is known to many of the natives as the skooma. The first 
I obtained I caught at night on a hook baited with a piece of pork or other common bait. A 
few days afterwards I caught another, in shallow water, with my hands. They rarely attain a 
greater length than fourteen inches, and are quite oily and not ill-flavored when cooked. By 
the Indians they are highly esteemed as food. 
