LEAST DARTER. 981 
downward and forward from eye; head °4; depth 54; D. IX, 11; A. II, 7; Lat. 1.58. 
Length 24 inches. 
Habitat, Northwestern Ohio to Minnesota; abundant northwestward; noticed only 
in tributaries of the Maumee, in Ohio. 
Habits —This species seems to be found in lakes and their tributaries 
more abundantly than is usual in this group. It isa brightly colored 
and active little fish. | 
GreNus &2. MICROPERCA. Patnam. 
Microperca, PUTNAM, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., i, 1863, 4. 
Type, Microperca punctulata, Putnam. 
Etymology, mikros, small; perke, perch. 
Body rather short, compressed; mouth moderate; the jaws about equal, the upper 
not protractile; vomerine teeth present; scales large; lateral line wanting, or on one 
or two scales only; dorsal fin small, subequal, well separated, the first with six or 
seven spines; anal fin much smaller than second dorsal, with two, or rarely one, spines, 
which are well developed ; pattern of coloration greenish, with dusky bars and zigzag 
markings; size very small, probably the smallest of the spiny-rayed fishes. 
155. MicRoPERCA PUNCTULATA Putnam. 
Least Darter. 
4 
Microperca punctulata, PUTNAM, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., i, 1863, 4.—JORDAN, Man. Vert., 
2d Ed., 1878, 228, and elsewhere. 
Description.—Body rather short and deep, somewhat compressed ; the back arched, the 
caudal peduncle rather long; head moderate, the snout somewhat decurved; the mouth 
moderate, terminal, oblique; cheeks naked; opercles somewhat scaly; neck and chest 
naked ; scales quite large, strongly ctenoid ; fins all small; anal spines strong, the first 
usually the largest; coloration olivaceous, the sides closely speckled and with vague 
bars and zigzag markiogs; second dorsal and caudal barred; dark streaks radiating 
from eye; a dark humeral spot; head 33; depth 44; D. VI to VII, 10; A. II, 6; Lat. 1. 
34. Length 14 inches. | 
Habitat, tributaries of the Upper Great Lakes and the northern parts of the Mississ- 
ippi and Ohio Valleys; abundant northwestward. In distribution and probably in 
habits similar to Pweilichthys eos. 
FAMILY XXIII. SCIHNIDH. THE CROAKERS. 
Body compressed, more or less elongate, covered with rather thin, ctenoid scales; 
lateral line continuous, extending on the caudal fin; head prominent, covered with 
scales; bones of the skull cavernous, the muciferous system highly developed, the sur- 
face of the skull, when the flesh is removed, very uneven; chin usually with pores, 
sometimes with barbels; mouth small or large, téeth in one or more series, the outer of 
which are sometimes enlarged; canines often present; no incisor nor molar teeth; no 
