DISTRIBUTION AND GENERAL NOTES ON THE SPECIES 



323 



Species was recorded seven times in depths greater than 200 m., but four of these records refer to 

 single individuals. There is here a strong suggestion of northward movement in winter, coupled 

 perhaps with some offshore movement (mainly confined to the larger fish). 



During the third survey, worked from late spring through summer and autumn, the species was 

 recorded from thirty-five trawling stations : nineteen in the southern, eleven in the intermediate and 

 five in the northern regions. There was only one northern record after midsummer, and only two 

 records in deep water, both near the southern limits of the range of the species. One rich haul was 

 made in the intermediate region, six others were all southern with a hint of increasing abundance in 

 late summer and autumn. Southerly movement during summer seems fairly certain, and this evidently 

 takes place over the plain of the shelf (cf. depths at the relevant stations, recorded in the Appendices). 



I 050 



^ 1000- 



'uJ 



^0 950 



or 



UJ 



^ 900- 

 850- 



20 



25 



30 



35 40 



LENGTHS _CMS 



45 



50 



55 



60 



Fig. 33. 'Average' K of Salilota aiistialis plotted against the true mean lengths in length 



groups, January 1932. 



A general examination of length measurements showed that juvenile S. mistralis were nearly always 

 found in shoal water, and near the northern limits of that part of the range of the species covered 

 during any given period. There was a tendency for larger fish to be found in deeper water than 

 smaller ones. The sex ratios appeared to be roughly normal, and females significantly larger than 

 males, but our data are less complete than for more important species (there was not always time 

 to sex Salilota) and are not given in full here. 



The weight records are sufficient to yield evidence on two important points. The ponderal indices 

 of Salilota in January, plotted against length, are shown in Fig. 33. The form of the curve (pecked 



