The Food of the Smaller Fresh-Water Fishes

Abstract

1. Reports on the contents of the alimentary canals of 319 fish specimens representing 25 species in 22 genera in the 7 families Aphredonderidae, Cottidae, Gasterosteidae, Atherinidae, Cyprinodontidae, Umbridae, and Cyprinidae.  Also describes structures subsidiary to alimentation, including length and complication of the alimentary canal, pharyngeal structures, number and development of gill rakers, and prehensile appendages of the mouth, for each of the genera, as related to food habits. Provides brief accounts of abundance and distribution of each species within Illinois.