The Lampreys and Fishes of Indiana.

BY PROF. O. P. HAY, American Museum, New York City.

Class 1. CYCLOSTOMI.

This class contains a number of very remarkable animals, some of which inhabit the ocean, others the waters of rivers and lakes. They are parasitic on other fishes, seizing them by means of the suctori disk, then with the horny teeth, rasping away the flesh and sucking the blood of their victims. Some of the marine species even burrow into the bodies of the larger fishes.

Order 1. HYPEROARTIA.

This order contains only a single family, the Petromyzontidæ.

Family PETROMYZONTIDEÆ.

THE LAMPREYS.

Body eel-like, scaleless and slippery; anteriorly cylindrical, compressed behind. Dorsal and anal meeting around the tail, the dorsal more or less notched. Sucking disk armed with horny teeth in the adults, unarmed in the larval stage; surrounded with a fringed border. Tongue with teeth. Gill openings seven in number along each side.

The lampreys do not burrow into the body of their prey as do the hagfishes, but content themselves with tearing away bits of flesh from the surface and sucking the blood. They are often taken while adhering to the bodies of larger fishes.

The lampreys undergo a marked change during their growth. For a time, until they reach a considerable size, they are wormlike, blind and toothless.

GENERA OF PETROMYZONTIDE.

Genus AMMOCŒTES Dumeril.

A single species only is found with us, and this is regarded as identical with that found in Europe.

LAMPETRA WILDERI (Gage).

Mud Lamprey; Brook Lamprey; Pride.

A small lamprey, not exceeding perhaps eight inches in length. Too little is known concerning the habits of this little lamprey. It is said to ascend small brooks in early spring for the purpose of depositing its spawn. After spawning it appears that they die. They are often found clinging to stones and other bodies. They are of no economic importance, but they would make good bait.

Genus PETROMYZON Linn.

Lampreys with the horny plate above the mouth (supraoral lamina), short and with only two or three closely approximated teeth. Teeth of the disk numerous and arranged in arched rows radiating from the mouth. Lingual teeth divided by a median groove into lateral halves. Dorsal fin continuous, scarcely notched. The toothless young resemble Ammocœtes.

ICHTHYOMYZON CONCOLOR (Kirtland).
Silvery Lamprey.

Dr. Jordan says that this lamprey is rather common both in Lake Erie and in the Ohio River. It appears to leave the deep waters on the approach of spring, and to ascend the smaller streams to deposit its spawn. Mr. Lewis McCormick (Fishes of Lorain County, Ohio), found ripe eggs in specimens on May 22d. Dr. Jordan has known of their being taken from Lake Erie while they were adhering to perch. On the other hand, he states that they have been taken from the stomachs of the perch to which the

lampreys have served as food. Prof. Milner states that this lamprey is parasitic on the lake sturgeon. It is also known to attack the paddlefish. In the Great Lakes, Prof. Milner states that it is found from shore to a depth of twenty fathoms.

This family contains two living genera, our Polyodon and the Chinese Psephurus.

Genus POLYODON Lacépède.

POLYODON SPATHULA (Walb.).

Paddlefish; Spoon-bill Cat; Duck-bill Cat.

In Indiana this fish will doubtless be found all along the Ohio River. I have taken it at Madison, where it seems to be abundant. There is no danger of confounding this fish with anything else. It needs only to be seen that it may be recognized. It appears to be abundant in the larger streams of our State. Its large size and its freedom from bones should make it a desirable fish, but its flesh is said to be tough. Prof. Forbes states that it is quite generally dressed for market and sold at the same rate as catfish. The paddle of this fish appears to be employed in stirring up the vegetation of the streams in which it lives, in order that it may obtain its food.

contents.

Prof. Forbes found extremely little mud mixed with the stomach He believes that the close set and slender gill-rakers form a filtering apparatus which permits the river silt to pass out, while it retains even the smallest crustaceans. Of the breeding habits of this remarkable fish nothing appears to be known.

Order 2. CHONDROSTEI.

THE STURGEONS.

Maxillary present. Opercular apparatus with opercular and interopercular bones. Head produced forward into a flat or subconical snout. Body provided with rows of bony bucklers. Mouth underneath the snout and transverse; capable of being protruded downward; toothless. Includes a number of large fishes, some of which inhabit the northern seas and ascend rivers in order to spawn, while others reside permanently in European and American rivers.

Family ACIPENSERIDE.

Genus SCAPHIRHYNCHUS Heckel.

SCAPHIRHYNCHUS PLATORYNCHUS (Raf.).

Shovel-nosed Sturgeon; White Sturgeon.

A very common fish in all the larger streams of Indiana, reaching a length of five, possibly of eight feet.

Not much is known concerning the habits of this fish. Considering the small size of its caudal fin it must be a slow-swimming fish, which spends most of its life on the bottom. Having no teeth it must subsist on small prey. It is used somewhat for food, but does not seem to be highly valued.

Genus ACIPENSER Linn.

ACIPENSER RUBICUNDUS LeSueur.

Lake Sturgeon; Ohio Sturgeon; Black Sturgeon;
Rock Sturgeon.

Attains a length of six to twelve feet, and a weight of 150 pounds or more. Specimens nine feet in length have been reported. Inhabits the Great Lakes, the rivers of British America, and the large rivers of the Mississippi Valley.

Prof. Milner says that at the southern end of Lake Michigan these fishes begin to congregate early in June, near the shores and

5-Fish Com.

mouths of rivers for the purpose of depositing their spawn. Some taken at the mouth of the Calumet River on the first of July were emaciated, and only one in twenty contained spawn.

The eggs, and probably the very young, are preyed upon by other fishes. Some sturgeons even have been found with sturgeon's eggs in their stomachs. Prof. Milner does not think that the sturgeons, except the youngest, are greatly exposed to the attacks of other fishes. When small, they are so well defended by the sharp spines of their bony shields that they would make an un comfortable mouthful for any fish of the lakes; while, after the spines have disappeared, the sturgeon has become too large for any fish to attack. Lampreys, however, fasten on them and produce sores and ulcerations.

The food of the sturgeon consists of small mollusks. Those with thin shells have these broken up; the thicker ones remain unbroken. They are also extremely fond of crayfishes. They are not to any great extent eaters of fish spawn. Prof. Milner says that the sturgeon as food is not popular. Many of the fishes are taken in nets along the lakes and then thrown out and allowed to decay, in order that they may not get into the nets again. The French Canadians make a kind of soup of the sturgeon, which is palatable, resembling chicken soup. A considerable quantity of smoked sturgeon is prepared. Caviare is made out of the eggs, while the skin is stated to be capable of being converted into a valuable leather.

Dr. H. M. Smith, writing later than Prof. Milner, states that the value of the sturgeon is yearly becoming more fully appreciated, so that the fishermen now receive the same price for it as for whitefish and lake trout. The sturgeon is captured mainly by means of gill nets.