280 NEW-YORK FAUNA. 



irides bluish mixed with reddish. Dorsal and caudal fins bluish ; anals dusky, lighter along 

 their bases ; pectorals bluish, occasionally the lower half light-colored. 



Length, 22 "0. Head, 5 "5. 



D. 15.22.20; P. 21 ; V. 6 ; A. 25.21 ; C. 34 f. 



The Haddock is nearly as common in our markets as the Cod, but is an inferior fish as an 

 article of food. It is, in fact, during the summer, more abundant than the cod. Dr. Storer 

 states, that on the coast of Massachusetts, they are more abundant than the cod, are fre- 

 quently sold for one or two cents apiece, and often strewed on the ground for manure. 



{EXTRA-LIMITAL.) 



M. vulgaris, the Bank Cod. Abdomen white. Lower half of the lateral line white. Second dorsal 

 and first anal with nineteen rays. 



GENUS MERLUCIUS. Cuvier. 



The head flattened ; body elongated. Two dorsal fins. No barbels on the chin. TJie single 

 anal fin very long. 



THE AMERICAN HAKE. 



MERLUCIUS ALBIDtTS. 



PLATE XL VI. FIG. 148. 



Le Mertu. Dithamel, Pesc.hes, part 2, Cap. 7, pi. 24. 



Hake. Pennant, Arctic Zoology, Vol. 3, p. 115. 



Stomodon bilmearis ? Mitchill, Report in part, &c. p. 7. 



The New-York Whiting, Gadus albidus. Mitchill, Ac. Nat. Sc. Vol. 1, p. 409. 



Gadus merlucius, Hake. Id. Lit and Phil. Soc. Vol. 1, p. 371. 



Merlucius vulgaris, Hake. Storer, Fishes of Massachusetts, p. 132. 



Characteristics. Reddish brown above. Long, acute palatine teeth. Lower jaw longest. 

 Length one to two feet. 



Description. Body oblong, cylindrical, subcompressed, and covered with a viscid mucus. 

 Scales loosely attached, and partially concealed by a loose membrane. On the flanks, the 

 scales are ovate, the concealed portion being narrowest ; near the upper angle of the opercle, 

 the scales have the same shape, but are much larger ; on the head, they are very small, orbi- 

 cular, and concentrically striate on their surface. Lateral line arising above the branchial 

 aperture, near the nape, very distinct, straight, nearly concurrent with the line of the back, 

 and composed of short interrupted tubes. Head large, broad, depressed, and in desiccated 

 specimens, presents strong bony sutures. In the recent fish, a few of these may be observed. 

 Thus, over the eye is an elevated crest, taking a sinuous course backward to the upper part 



