362 AMERICAN FISHES. 



rays in the first dorsal (10 to ti in M. merlus, 12 to 13 in J/, bilinearis), 



and by the larger size of the scales (the number in the lateral line being 

 about 150 in M, merlus, 100 to no in M. bilinearis). 



The general appearance of the two species is very similar, and it re- 

 quires careful study to separate them. It is probable that at no very remote 

 period they diverged from a common stock. The distribution of the two 

 species upon the opposite sides of the Atlantic coincides very closely with 

 that of other Gadoid fishes, which are specifically identical in Europe and 

 America. The Hake of Europe is found along the coast from Trondhjem 

 Fjord, latitude 65 , south to 36 , being very abundant in the Mediter- 

 ranean ; also found on the coast of Portugal and in Western France. In 

 the English Channel, however, and in the waters of Holland and Ger- 

 many, it is considered very unusual. On our coast it ranges from New 

 York to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, wdiere it is common — especially in the 

 Bay of Chaleur — but it has rarely been observed as far north as the Straits 

 of Belle Isle. Dr. Packard was told by fishermen that during a period of 

 fort}' summers spent on the coast of Labrador they had taken but one speci- 

 men of this fish. This fish has been found at great depths as far south as 

 latitude 3 6° and 37 . 



The name Silver Hake, by which this fish is known in the Bay of Fundy, 

 is much more appropriate than that of Whiting, though the latter is more 

 frequently heard in New England ; its similarity to the European Hake 

 is very great ; while the name Whiting, which is in Europe applied to a 

 species {Merlangus vulgaris), somewhat resembling the Pollock, has been 

 appropriated in this country for a fish which frequents our southern coast 

 and belongs to the drum family. 



The Silver Hake commonly inhabits the middle depths of the ocean, 

 or the outer edge of the continental slope, and comes to the surface to 

 feed. Like the Pollock, it is a fish of prey ; its teeth are sharp, its mouth 

 large and powerful, and its form lithe, muscular, and adapted to rapid 

 locomotion. It comes to the surface to prey upon the schools of herring 

 and other small fish, and is frequently caught in the mackerel and bluefish 

 nets. Its appearance in our waters is irregular, and when seen it is usually 

 swimming in schools in considerable numbers. 



They average one foot in length. They are of roving habits, following 

 the shoals of herring, which they devour in great quantities. Until 1880 

 little was known concerning the breeding habits of the Silver Ha!;c ; but, 



