FISHES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 321 



inches. The pectorals, composed of sixteen rays, have the same 

 general form as the ventrals, but still more rounded, longer, and 

 broader by one-fourth of an inch, with a basis of insertion of eleven- 

 sixteenths of an inch. 



Br. 15 ; D. 21 ; A. 18 ; C. 28 ; V. 11 ; P. 16. 



The scales are oblong, longer than broad, and proportionally larger 

 than in the Esox Estor Lesu. We may count four of them on the 

 space of three-eighths of an inch. The lateral line is very distinct ; 

 it follows the middle of the body from the basis of the caudal to a 

 point in front of the dorsal and anal fins, whence it rises to terminate 

 at the height of the upper third of the operculum. 



The upper side of the head, the back, and the upper half of the 

 sides are bluish black, amidst which the scales shine with a metallic 

 azure reflection. The face and the lower half of the sides have a 

 lighter tint, are sprinkled with whitish spots, arranged in horizontal 

 or oblique bands on the face, spherical or ovoid on the sides, and dis- 

 posed in ill-defined longitudinal rows. The lower side of the head 

 is white ; the abdomen is very pale yellow. The fins have an olive- 

 colored tint ; the caudal has black spots, elongated in the direction 

 of the rays ; these spots affect less regularity on the dorsal and anal, 

 and disappear almost entirely on the ventrals and pectorals. 



In the young individual, the spots of the sides do not exist, as such. 

 The general color is more olive, more uniform, and the body is barred 

 vertically with sinuous white bands, which are now and then inter- 

 cepted. This fish was obtained from various places along the north- 

 ern shores of Lake Superior. 



GADOIDS. 



The family of codfishes contains numerous species, closely allied, 

 all of which are circumscribed within the colder regions of both 

 hemispheres. The northern seas especially teem with codfishes of 

 various kinds, and the number of individuals of some of the species 

 must be countless, if we judge by the quantity caught annually. 

 Taken as a whole, this family consists of low forms, their body being 

 very much elongated, their vertical fins very large, and the ventrals 

 placed in such a position under the chin, as shows that when they 

 22 



