NOTES ON SOME WESTERN FLUVIAL FISHES DE-SCRIBED BY CHARLES GIRARD IN 185G.
By John Otterbein Snyder,Of Stanford University, California.
In the course of a recent investigation of the fishes of the Bonne-ville drainage system of the Great Basin, pursued under the authorityof the United States Bureau of Fisheries, it became necessary toattempt an identification of several species found there with thosedescribed by early writers on western ichthyology. The greatestdifficulty was encountered in the descriptions and names publishedby Charles Girard. These were based on a small collection * madeby the naturalists of an exploring party directed by Capt. J. W.Gunnison, United States Army.An examination of available data associated with the collectionhas led to certain facts and inferences that appear to be worthrecording at this time.Early in 1853 Capt. Gunnison organized an expedition the purposeof which was to explore certain parts of a proposed route for' a rail-road from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. The WarDepartment directed a survey of the pass through the Rocky Moun-tains in the vicinity of the headwaters of the Rio del Norte, byway of the Huerfano River and Coochetopa, or some other eligiblepass, into the region of Grand and Green Rivers and westerly to theVegas de Santa Clara and Nicolette River of the Great Basin, andthence northward to the vicinity of Lake Utah on a return route.The party was a large one, including members competent to "makeresearches in those collateral branches of science which effect thesolution of the question of location, construction, and support of arailway communication across the continent." Lieut. E. G. Beck-with was second in command, Mr. F. Creutzfeldt was the botanist,while Mr. J. A. Snyder, who is mentioned as a young assistanttopographer, collected some specimens.
1 What now remains of this collection is preserved in the United States National Museum, and the speci-mens that were collected west of the continental divide were examined by the writer in 1914.Proceedings U. S. National Museum. Vol. 59?No. 2357. 23
24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 59.A rendezvous was effected near Westport, Missouri, and a startmade on June 23, 1853. An arduous, interesting, and at timesexciting journey was accomplished, the expedition arriving at SaltLake City on November 8 of the same year. Just after enteringthe valley of Great Salt Lake Capt. Gunnison, Mr. Creutzfeldt, andseveral other members of the party lost their lives at the hands ofmarauding Indians. Lieut. Beckwith then assumed command, andit was he who wrote the journal and prepared or directed the prep-aration of maps and reports that have since been published. Afterwintering at Salt Lake and making various observations in theregion the party proceeded westward to the Pacific slope.While the expedition may now be regarded as a mere incident inwestern exploration and travel, it accomplished something of scientificvalue, much of which was based upon the work of the naturalist.However, the published narrative shows almost no interest in hisactivities, while authors of papers relating to his collections accordhim no recognition, one of them even being careless about thespelling of his name.Fishes representing 19 species were collected. Eighteen of thesereceived new names, many of which appeared in the Proceedings ofthe Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for 1856. Theywere redescribed, with additional notes, in the tenth volume of thePacific Railroad Surveys. For easy reference the more importantdata recorded by Girard, together with the generally accepted iden-tifications of recent authors, are here tabulated. An examinationof the table will serve to show something of the faulty condition ofthe records relating to the specimens.
NO. 2357. SOME WESTERN FLUVIAL FISHES?SNYDER. 25
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26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 59.In describing Salmo virginalis'Girard 2 writes:Specimens collected by the party under Lieut. Beckwith in Utah Creek, and atSangre de Criato Pass, upper waters of the Rio Grande del Norte (Rio Bravo).According to the narrative the party reached Sangre de CristoCreek, a tributary of the Rio Grande, August 13, 1853, and, passingdown the stream, camped for 10 days on Utah Creek ("Ute Cr." ofsome maps), when trout and perhaps other fishes were collected.Through some oversight Jordan and Evermann 3 have used thename S. virginalis for the trout of Utah Lake and the Bonnevillebasin generally, and also Evermann and Kendall 4 have acceptedS. spilurus for the Rio Grande trout, not following Cope, 5 however,for they regard S. virginalis as synonymous with S. spilurus. Itnow appears that the Rio Grande trout should be known as S. vir-ginalis (ignoring Cope's contention that two species inhabit theSangre de Cristo and Utah creeks), while Sucklej-'s name, S. utali, isrestored to the Bonneville form.Siboma atraria is said to have been taken from a spring in thedesert of Utah. The United States National Museum records thelocality as "near 38? latitude." The type specimen. No. 236, issomewhat over 6 inches long, the caudal fin being broken. Thereare 8 dorsal and 8 anal rays, 56 scales in the lateral series, 30 be-tween occiput and dorsal, 12 above the lateral line. The head meas-ures 0.28 of the length; depth, 0.28; depth caudal peduncle, 0. 11;snout to occiput, 0.22; snout to dorsal, 0.54; snout to ventral, 0.56.The gillrakers, numbering 11, are short and pointed. The speciesrepresented by this specimen is widely distributed in the Bonnevillebasin, where it abounds in favorable places, frequently inhabitingsprings and spring pools. It is very probable that the type camefrom Fish Springs in the southern part of Tooele County, Utah, aswill appear.The narrative and maps offer no evidence that Creutzfeldt collectedthe type of this species, but it seems that it was secured in 1854,when the party again faced the west after wintering at Salt Lake.On May 13 they reached an oasis where were "fine large springs offresh water, sending out considerable streams on the plain. Theywere surrounded by large meadows of excellent grass. These springsare filled with small fish, and the Indians therefore give them thename of Pangwitch or Fish Springs." A stop of two or three dayswas made at this place, providing time for collecting and preservingspecimens. These springs with their numerous fishes still remain
?
the center of an oasis in a forbidding desert?and they may withoutmuch doubt be regarded as the type locality of S. atraria.The species has been regarded as synonymous with Tigoma lineataGirard, but the present writer finds no facts in support of that iden-
? Proo. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1856, p. 220.8 Fishes N. and M. America, p. 495.
< Bull. U. S. Fish Com., for 1892, p. 106.
'Hayden's Geological Survey Montana, 1871, p. 470.
no. 2357. SOME WESTERN FLUVIAL FISHES?SNYDER. 27tification. The type of T. lineata is lost and the locality in which itwas found is unknown. One pharyngeal arch is preserved (Cat. No.2783, U.S.N.M.). The teeth are in two rows, 2-4, and they closelyresemble those of R. hydroplilox. Girard writes of T. lineata: "Thegeneral aspect is elongated, the body being subfusiform, anteriorlythickish, and quite tapering posteriorly." Also the same authorremarks of his T. egregia: "By its general aspect this species resem-bles T. lineata." It is quite clear, therefore, that T. lineata was afish of slender, graceful form like R. egregius or R. hydroplilox, whileS. atraria is a deep-bodied, thick-tailed form, with a comparativelyarge head. The name Richardsonius atrarius should, therefore,stand for the common chub of the Bonneville basin, where it is verygenerally distributed, inhabiting both lakes and streams, and whereit is the species which was apparently able to hold out longest inbodies of water which have dwindled during the slow desiccationwhich followed the Quaternary period.Acomus generosus was said to have been taken in the Bonnevillebasin, and the writer of the present paper unwittingly accepted thestatement in a recent brief review 6 of the genus to which it is sup-posed to belong. In the description of the species, Girard 6 gives thelocality "Cottonwood Creek, an affluent of the Great Salt Lake ofUtah." In the table presented on a previous page it will be notedthat other species from the same locality have been identified withMississippi basin forms, and no one would now presume to assignspecies of Notropis or Lepomis to the Great Basin. Clearly, then,in the case of at least four or possibly five nominal species a mistakewas made in the locality. There is evidence that at four places inBeckwith's travels a Cottonwood Creek was approached. Two ofthese creeks are named and located in his maps of the route and twowere apparently unknown by that name. The banks of the first oneencountered furnished a camp site for two nights and a day early inJuly. This creek is a tributary of the Arkansas, and at the pointcrossed by the old Sante Fe trail is no doubt the type locality of A.dulcis, C. gunnisoni, C. lugubris, and C. ludibunda. At this place itwould also be possible to collect specimens of B. Tiumilis and A. dul-cis. The second Cottonwood Creek noted by Beckwith was passedon the 8th of November, 1S53, after camping there on the previousnight. The party was then without a naturalist, and it was quiteprobable that no collecting was done. This stream is Girard's afflu-ent of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and, as is now evident, an im-possible locality for the species which he assigned to it. Returningto Acomus generosus, the t}7pes are two specimens measuring about3* inches (Cat. No. 256, U.S.N.M.). The head is short, the bodyrobust, the lips small and not very pendent. The skull is thick; thefontanelle completely obliterated. There are 79-81 scales in the
? Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 49, 1915, p. 575.
28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 59.lateral series, 16-17 above lateral line, 41-42 before the dorsal. Oncomparing the types of -4. generosus and C. plebeius (Baird andGirard) it became evident to the writer that both belonged to avery closely related species, if indeed they were not identical. Itnow seems probable that the fishes called A. generosus were collectedin the Rio Grande basin, perhaps in Utah Creek, along with thetrout S. virginalis.No question has arisen as to what river system Gila elegans andPtychocheilus vorax belong. The exact locality of capture is notknown, but ample opportunity was offered to fish in the waters ofthe Colorado from Coochetopa Creek to Green River, and fishes ofboth species readily take a baited hook.Girard does not indicate where specimens of Tigoma egregia werecollected. The United States National Museum register records itfrom Humboldt River, the entry having been made in February,1857, and the type is in all respects like fishes of the species living inthat river. The Humboldt was reached June 8, 1855, at a point notfar from Imlay, where the river passes through the gap between theEugene and Humboldt mountains. ''There are no fish in this partof it larger than minnows," writes Lieutenant Beckwith, and thosewhich they apparently caught, Ricliardsonius egregius and SipJta-teles obesus, are the only species there which take the hook readily.Algansea obesa was described from two specimens?one collectedby J. S. Bowman, the other by Lieutenant Beckwith. Girard wasapparently satisfied as to the correctness of the locality assigned tothe first, and it (Cat. No. 193 U.S.N.M.) is regarded by the presentwriter as typical of a Lahontan species, SipJiateles obesus. Thesecond example (Cat. No. 194 U.S.N.M.) apparently belongs to thesame species as the first, but it is not given a locality in the museumregister. Girard at first refers it to the Humboldt River and laterrecords it as doubtful.Tigoma humboldti is included in Girard's general report, but nospecimens are there accredited to Beckwith, as in the original descrip-tion. One example (Cat. No. 225 U.S.N.M.) is preserved. Thecatalogue records two collected by J. S. Bowman. The speciesrepresented by the single specimen has not since been found in theHumboldt River. It differs from R. egregius in having 11 rays in theanal fin, a deeper body, larger head, and larger eyes. There are 54scales in the lateral series, 13 above the lateral line, 7 below, and 27between occiput and dorsal fin.The type of Tigoma gracilis is lost, the locality unknown, and thedescription too brief and general to admit of the name being appliedwithout doubt to any particular species.It now remains to compare some of the other types with speci-mens which a future collector may be fortunate enough to securefrom Cottonwood and Utah creeks near the crossings of the oldSante Fe trail.