COTTOGASTER. 969 
Description.—Body stout, heavy forward, compressed behind; head broad and thick, 
resembling that of Diplesium ; eye large, 34 in head; mouth large and broad, the lower 
jaw wide, a little shorter than the upper; maxillary reaching to the eye; cheeks, oper- 
cles, and neck scaly ; chest naked; belly naked anteriorly, scaly in front of the vent; 
scales rather large; dorsal fins large, the first larger than the second, which is smajler 
than the anal, though longer; the two dorsal fins well separated; anal fin large, very 
deep, in some specimens (males ?) reaching to the caudal; anal spines strong, the first 
the larger ; color dark, densely but vaguely blotched with darker; sides with &-10 ob- 
scure blotches, the anterior ones bar-like; a large black spot on base of spinous dorsal 
behind, and a small one in front; second dorsal, caudal, and pectorals barred; a very 
strong black suborbital bar, and a faint dark line along muzzle; head 3 2-5; depth 5; 
D. X, 15; A. II, 11. Length 3 inches. | 
Habitat, Wabash River to Illinois and Arkansas; not abundant. Not yet seen in 
Ohio. 
Diagnosis —From other Darters of similar appearance, this species is 
known by its protractile mouth. 
Habits —Nothing distinctive is known of its habits. 
GENUS 75. COTTOGASTER. Putnam. 
? Cottogaster, PUTNAM, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., i, 1863, 5. 
Rheocrypta, JORDAN, Bull. U. S_ Nat. Mus., x, 1877, 9. 
Type, Boleosoma tessellatum, Thompson, not of DeKay. 
Etymology, Kottos, Cottus ; gaster, belly. 
Body rather robust, little compressed; head moderate, bluntish; mouth small, the 
lower jaw included; premaxillaries protractile; maxillary not adherent to the preor- 
bital; teeth on vomer; gil!l-membranes nearly separate; scales ctenoid, those of the 
middie line of the belly enlarged and spinous, falling off at times, leaving a naked strip; 
lateral line continuous; dorsal fins large, the second usually smaller than the first and 
smaller than the anal; anal spines two, strong, the first the stronger; size moderate. 
137. CorroGASTER COPELANDI Jordan. 
Rheocrypta copelandi, JORDAN, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., x, 1877, 9; Man. Vert. E. U. S., 
2d Ed., 1878, 222, and elsewhere. 
Description.— Body rather slender and elongate ; head pretty large, rather long, some- 
what narrowed, resembling that of Boleosoma; mouth small, horizontal, subinferior ; 
eye large, 34 in head; cheeks naked ; opercles and neck each with a few scales; throat 
naked; ventral plates well developed ; scales moderate, strongly etenoid ; color brown- 
ish olive, a series of rather small, horizontally oblong black blotches along the lateral 
line, forming an interrupted lateral band ; back tessellated; blackish streaks forward 
and downward from eye; ventral fins dusky ; vertical fins with dusky specks; a black 
spot on anterior rays of spinous dorsal; head 44; depth 53; D XI, 10; A. II, 9; Lat. 
1.56. Length 24 inches. 
Habitat. This species has thus far been taken only in White River, near Indianapolis, 
Indiana. 
