ZOOLOGY. 
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diameter, and completely isolated from the others, not confluent as in some other species ; caudal fin moderately lunated, not 
forked; head small ; teeth small, and very numerous, especially on the labials ; length of the full grown adults rarely exceed 
2 feet. 
Hah .—The Columbia river and its larger affluents. The species is apparently not anadromous, but seems to remain in the 
fresh waters throughout the year. 
The typical specimen upon which the foregoing description is based is a single skin contained 
in the Smithsonian collection, Catalogue No. 940, that of a female, obtained by the present 
describer at Fort Dalles, Oregon, April 5, 1855. The species is known to the Walla-Walla 
Indians as the Slioo-shines , and to the Wascos by the name of Ic-kwan-eek. 
Mr. G'irard, taking the specimen for the S. tsuppitch of Richardson, figured and described it 
as belonging to that species. Upon his attention being called to several marked discrepancies 
between the account given by Sir John Richardson of the S. tsuppitch and certain charac¬ 
teristics of the specimen from Fort Dalles, he at once coincided with me in considering the two 
species distinct. According to Richardson, the S. tsuppitch has the dorsal, anal, and caudal 
fins destitute of spots , and the tail forked. The present fish, on the contrary, has the tail but 
moderately lunated at its extremity; and the dorsal fins and tail are profusely spotted with black. 
These prominent differences, besides many others less striking, have been deemed sufficient to 
settle the question of non-identity of the two species; and as no recorded description seems to 
refer to the present salmon, it is now presented as a new species under the name Salmo Gibbsii, 
in honor of my valued friend George Gibbs, esq., geologist to the Northwestern Boundary 
Commission, and for many years a resident of Washington Territory. To Mr. Gibbs more than 
to any other individual am I indebted for rare specimens in all branches of natural history, and 
especially for information, aid, advice, and encouragement while endeavoring to elucidate the 
history of the Salmonidas of the northwest coast. 
This salmon is obtained during the winter and early spring months at Fort Dalles, Oregon. 
It is also found during the summer in the Yakima, John Day’s, and other rivers, emptying into 
the Columbia. In the fall of 1855 I obtained a fine specimen of a fish resembling this species 
from Boise river, one of the tributaries of Lewis’s Fork. Its flesh is good for the table, and 
the size renders it convenient for culinary purposes, as it rarely exceeds five or six pounds. 
Most individuals have a broad reddish band or blueish along the sides, commencing at the 
middle of the opercula, and extending to near the base of the tail. This band is apparently 
subcutaneous, and may exist only in individuals not in prime condition. 
Dr. Cooper says: “This fine fish, known as mountain and salmon trout, is quite plentiful in 
the rivers east of the Cascades in autumn, when we saw many of them caught by the Indians. 
They did not bite at the hook, though I caught two other species very easily, using grasshoppers 
as bait. These were all lost, Avith other fish obtained there, on account of the want of good 
alcohol, as before mentioned. Though some of our hunters said that this fish is confined to the 
east side of the mountains, I saw one caught in Puget Sound in March, 1855, which I thought 
precisely the same. Its peculiar shape Avould be hardly mistakeable.” 
Dr. Cooper’s authority for the existence of this salmon at Puget Sound is undoubtedly good; 
yet, nevertheless, I am surprised that, during a much longer residence in that vicinity, I never 
noticed this species, although I paid especial attention to the Salmonidce. 
