410 



BULLETIN OF THE BUBEATJ OF FISHEEIES 



third dorsal is long (rather small for the size of the fish) and broom-shaped. The 

 two anals stand below the second and third dorsals to which they correspond in 

 height, length, and outline. In a large series of Gulf of Maine cod 23 to 37 inches 

 long, examined by Welsh, the number of fin rays was as follows: 



These counts would be equally characteristic for the cod of other seas, but 

 as few as 12 rays have occasionally been recorded for the first dorsal, 16 for the 

 second, 17 for the third, 17 for the first anal and 16 for the second. The pectorals, 

 set high up on the sides, reach as far back as the end of the first dorsal. The ven- 

 trals are nearly as long as the pectorals in young cod but shorter in large fish, with 

 the second ray extending beyond the general outline as a filament for a distance 

 almost one-fourth as long as the entire fin. Both head and body are clothed with 

 small scales. 



Young cod are easity distinguished from large tomcod by their broad ventral 

 fins and by the location of the first dorsal fin, as explained in the description of that 

 species (p. 406). The pale lateral line marks the cod off at a glance from the had- 

 dock, and the square broom-shaped tail, projecting upper jaw, and spotted color 

 pattern of a cod give it an aspect quite different from that of the pollock. 



Color. — Cod vary so widely in color that sundry of its color phases have been 

 named, but all fall into two main groups — the gray and the red. The back and 

 upper sides of the former range from almost black through dark sooty or brownish 

 gray, oUve gray, olive brown, sepia brown, mouse gray, ashy gray, clay colored, 

 and greenish to pale pearly (darker on the back than on the sides), the fins being of 

 the general body tint, and the belly whitish, usually tinged with the general ground 

 color. The red or "rock" cod varies from duU reddish brown to orange or brick 

 red, with white belly tinged with reddish, and with red, olive, or gray fins. In most 

 cod the upper part of the trunk, the sides of the head, and the fins and tail (but 

 not the nose or belly) are thickly speckled with small, round, vague-edged spots. 

 In the " gray" fish these are of a bro\vnish or j^ellowish cast, darker than the general 

 body color, while in the "red" fish they are usually reddish bro\vn and sometimes 

 yellowish. Occasionally one sees a spotless cod, but these are unusual. The 

 lateral line is invariably paler than the general bod}' tint — pearly graj- or reddish 

 according to the hue of the particular fish in question — and stands out against the 

 darker sides. 



Size. — Cod sometimes grow to a tremendous size. A monster of 2III4 pounds, 

 more than 6 feet long, was caught on a line trawl oft' the Massachusetts coast in May, 

 1895;" one that weighed 138 pounds after being dressed (hence must have "gone" 

 180 pounds or more alive) was brought in from Georges Bank in 1838; and Goode 



■-' Jordan and Evermann. American Food and Game Fishes. 1902. New York. 



