POUTASSOU. 



Poutasson ffros. 

 Couch's Whiting, 

 Gadus poiitassou, 



Ktsso; the Pontassou si-mply being tlie Pollack. 

 Yarrell; Br. Fishes, vol. ii, p. 247. 

 GuNTHEii; Cat. Br. Museum, vol. iv, p. 333. 



This fish was formerly mistaken for the Common Whiting, 



but Risso was led to suppose that there was a specific difi^'erence 



between them, although no opportunity had offered itself to 



him for comparison. In the month of Mayj 1840, an example 



answering to Risso's description of this species, was taken with 



a line by a fisherman of Polperro, and, as even to this ordinary 



observer, its difference from the well-known Whiting was 



apparent, it was brought to me for further inquiry. A 



description and figure were taken, and the first announcement 



of its discovery in Britain was made by Mr. Yarrell, in the 



second edition of his "History of British Fishes," where, 



however, the engraving represents it much darker than it 



should be. 



llisso says that its haunts are in the deepest portion of the 



sea in the neighbourhood of Nice, where it is fished for at 



all times of the year; that it spawns in the spring, but that 



its flesh is rather soft. And this seems to have remained the 



whole which was known of its history, until the summer of 



1851, Avhen, in the month of July, I received information that 



immense numbers of small fishes were at a few miles from 



land along our coast, and that the larger fishes were devouring 



them eagerly, so that the stomachs of the latter were found 



distended with them. There was little difficulty in procuring 



an opportunity for examination, and I was agreeably surprised 



to find that these numerous small fishes were the young of the 



