THE COD FAMILY. 261 



cud by the shortness of the snout, irrespective of the features 

 already pointed out, by the coloration, and by the shape of the 

 first aiial fin. 



The authors of the Scandinavian Fishes 1 follow the opinion 

 of Prof. Sars that the fry of the whiting seek the shelter of 

 jelly-fishes, and feed on the crustaceans which live in the latter 

 as parasites or which adhere to their tentacles, whence fisher- 

 men draw the conclusion in Sweden that the whiting is 

 generated in the jelly-fishes and reared by them. There is no 

 reason to suppose, in this country at least, that any such 

 general habit prevails. Instead of looking for the young 

 whiting inshore, as the authors mention, it is necessary to go 

 to the offshore. 



The differentiation of the two species, viz. the cod and the 

 whiting, is very marked, in spirit, at the length of 34 mm. In 

 the whiting the median dorsal fin is less abruptly elevated than 

 in the cod, and the first anal differs widely, its elongation in 

 the former being probably connected with the abbreviation of 

 the abdomen. The body of the whiting is more plump and 

 neatly rounded than in the cod, which is flatter and has 

 generally a more prominent abdomen. The pigment-specks 

 closely cover the sides of the body in the whiting, as well as 

 the membranous webs of the dorsal fins, and are continued on 

 the head. The pigment at the base of the caudal rays is more 

 distinct in the whiting, and the lancet-like caudal termination 

 of the body is longer in this species. The muscle-plates are 

 coarser in the cod, and the surface has little of the dappled 

 silvery sheen of the whiting. The chromatophores are larger 

 in the cod, and are grouped in blotches over the surface, with 

 intermediate pale patches, and the shoulder and the head have 

 much less pigment than in the whiting. Both the breast- and 

 ventral fins of the cod are shorter than those of the whiting. 

 The snout in the latter is shorter and broader as well as deeper, 

 and the short sub-mental papilla is in contrast with the long 

 barbel of the cod of the same length. The whiting would 

 appear to attain a plump body and finished outline sooner 

 than the cod. 



1 p. 491. 



