FISHES OF NEW YORK 703 



According to Dr Meek it is found rarely in Cayuga lake. 



The average length of this species in the Great lakes region 

 is about 2 feet; in Alaska, according to Dr Ball, it reaches a 

 length of 5 feet and occasionally weighs 60 pounds; the size 

 of the fish depends chiefly on the amount of food accessible 

 to it. 



It is stated that the burbot is usually found in deep water 

 on mud bottom, except during the spawning season, in March, 

 when it frequents hard or rocky bottoms. The eggs are small 

 and numerous, and are believed to be deposited in deep water; 

 Dr Dall estimates that some individuals contain several millions 

 of eggs; in Alaska the eggs are of a creamy yellow color, and 

 the fish are found full of spawn from November to January. 

 From the observations mentioned, it will be seen that the 

 spawning period extends at least from November to March; 

 according to Dr Dall the males are usually much smaller than 

 the females and have a smaller liver; in some males he found 

 two or three gall bladders opening into a common duct, but he 

 never observed this phenomenon in the female; the eggs are 

 laid separate or loose on the bottom of the river. According to 

 Baron Cederstrom, a medium-sized female of the European bur- 

 bot, which is a near relative of the American 'species, contained 

 about 160,000 eggs; in the European burbot, some eggs are 

 clear, some yellowish and others almost colorless; the period 

 of incubation occupies from three to four weeks; the eyes 

 appear in 15 or 16 days ; the embryos swim by quick movements 

 of the pectorals, usually toward the surface of the water, 

 whence they fall passively to the bottom. 



The burbot is extremely voracious, and feeds on bottom fishes 

 and crustaceans. It destroys the pike and such spiny fishes as 

 the yellow perch and sunfish. In Alaskan rivers it feeds on 

 whitefish, lampreys and other species; large stones have some- 

 times been found in its stomach. Mr Graham took a stone 

 weighing a pound from the stomach of a burbot. 



In the Great lakes region the burbot is considered worthless 

 for food, occasionally the livers are eaten; in Lake Winnepe- 



