924 | FISHES—CENTRARCHID. 
118. Pomoxys ANNULARIS Rafinesque. 
Crappie; New Light; Campbellite; Batchelor; Bride Perch 
Strawberry Perch; Chinquapin Perch; Sac-a-lai., 
Pomoxis annularis, RAFINESQUE, Amer. Monthly Mag., 1818, 14; Journ. Phila. Acad. Nat. 
Sci., 1818, 417; Ichth. Oh., 1820, 33.—GirarD, U.S. P. R. R. Sarv., 1858, 6. 
Pomoxys annularis, JORDAN and COPELAND, Proc. Acad Nat. Sci. Paila., 1876.—NELSON, 
Cat. Fishes Ill., 1876, 37.—GILBERT and KLrpPPaRT, Rept. Ohio Fish Comm., 1877, 
77.— JORDAN, Man. Vert., 1876, 231; Bull? U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 10, 1877, 37; Ann. N. 
Y. Acad. Sci., vol. i, 1877, 97; Man. Vert., 1878, 247; Bull. Hayden’s Geol. Surv., vol. 
iv. 1878, 437; Ball. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 12, 1878, 47, 76—BxEan, U.S. Nat. Mas., 
1820, 99, - ii 
Cichla storeria, KIRTLAND, Rept. Zool. Ohio, 1838, 191. 
Pomoxys storerius, GILL, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1865. | 
Pomoxis nitidus, GIRARD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., Nov., 1857, p. 200; U. 8. Pac. R. R, 
Surv., 1858, 6. 
Centrarchus nitidus, GUNTHER, Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus., i, 1859, 257. 
Pomoxys protacanthus, GILL, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila, 1865, 
Pomoxys intermedius, GILL, Proc. Acad. Nat. S:i. Phila., 1865. 
Pomoxys brevicauda, GILL, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1865. 
Description —Body elongate, the depth usually about 24 in length of body, the profile 
more or less strongly S-shaped, owing to the projecting snout, depressed occipital 
region and strongly prominent, thickened ante-dorsal area ; head long, about 3inlength, 
the mouth very wide, the mandible being about as long as the pcctorala; eye large, 
about 4 in head; fin rays, dorsal VI, 15, the spines varying from V to VII; anal VI, 18, the 
spines frequently but five in number; the number of spines is subject to considerable 
variation, but the normal number both in dorsal and anal is six; the proportions of the 
spines also vary somewhat; lateral line with about 42 scales (36 to 48); color, clear sil- 
very olive, mottled with dark olive green, the green being chiefly on the upper part of 
the body and having a tendency to form narrow vertical bars; dorsal and caudal mot- 
tled with green; anal pale, scarcely marked at al!; soft rays of dorsal and anal very high, 
but still lower than in P. sparoides. This species reaches the length of about a foot. The 
form varies much with age, large specimens having the body much deeper and more 
compressed than is the case with young fishes. 
Diagnosis.—From all our species except the next, the presence of this 
fish may be known by about six spines both in the dorsal and anal. The 
S-curve to the profile and the larger mouth characterize this species. A 
good color mark is the pale color of the anal which in P. sparoides is 
strongly mottled. The normal number of dorsal spines is seven in P. 
sparoides and six in P. annularis. 
Habitat.—This species belongs properly to the Lower Mississippi Valley, 
being most abundant from Missouri south. It occurs in large numbers 
in the Ohio River and its larger tributaries where it is valued as a pan- 
fish. It possesses some of the “ gamey ” qualities of the Black Bass buf 
to a less extent. It prefers still waters and ponds and seldom ascends 
small streams. It is rarely taken in Lake Erie. 
