468 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHEEIES 



162. Common grenadier { Macrourus lairdii Goode &ndBe&n) 

 Rat-tail; Marlin-spike 



Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 2583. 



Description. — The grenadier once seen could hardly be mistaken for any other 

 fish except one of its own tribe, so characteristic are its slender body (compressed 

 behind the vent and tapering to a whiplike tail with no definite caudal fin) in 

 combination with a pointed snout overhanging the mouth, very large eyes, and 

 high first dorsal but very low second dorsal fin. It has a chin barbel hke a cod 

 (not shown in the illustration). As noted above, the second ray of the first dorsal 

 fin is a true spine, serrated along its front edge with about 15 sharp and very notice- 

 able teeth pointing upward. The first dorsal fin (2 stiff spiny rays and 11 softer 

 rays) is triangular, about twice as high as long, its first ray very short, and origi- 

 nates over the pectorals close behind the gill opening. The space between the 

 two dorsal fins is about as long as the height of the first fin. The second dorsal 

 (about 137 rays) extends back to the tip of the tail, is so low that its membrane 

 is hardly visible, and tapers to practically nothing at its rear end. The anal is 

 considerably longer than the second dorsal (only about 120 rays, however) and 

 more than twice as high. The pectorals are of ordinary form, rounded at the tip. 

 The ventrals, which stand under or slightly behind them, are triangular with the 

 first ray prolonged as a threadlike filament. The scales are rough with small 

 spines. The jaws are armed with several bands of small recurved teeth. 



Color. — Described as light brownish gray above, silvery below, with bluish 

 belly, the lower surface of the snout pink, the throat deep violet, the first dorsal 

 pink with blackish spines, and the eyes dark blue. 



Size. — Usually about 1 foot long. 



General range and occurrence in the Gulf of Maine. — This is normally a deep- 

 water fish which has been found at many localities along the continental slope from 

 the West Indies north nearly to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and rarely 

 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is also known from the mouth of the Laurentian 

 Channel, on the Scotian Banks, in the Gulf of Maine, and even in Vineyard Sound. 

 Grenadiers usually live in at least 80 to 90 fathoms of water and thence down to 

 1,000 to 1,200 fathoms (deepest record 1,255 fathoms); but one was trawled in 9 

 fathoms in Vineyard Sound by the Fish Hawk many years ago, a second was foimd 

 floating near the surface at Eastport by Dr. W. C. Kendall, and a third was taken 

 in a weir at Lubec, as reported by Huntsman. The only other records of grenadiers 

 within the Gulf of Maine are of one caught in 160 fathoms in the Western Basin, 

 44 miles off Cape Ann, and another taken off Gloucester, both taken many years 

 ago. They may be more common on the soft muddy bottoms of the deep basins of 

 the Gulf in 100 to 125 fathoms than this would suggest, overlooked, perhaps, be- 

 cause few fishermen ever set their trawls on these grounds, which are not productive 

 either of cod or of haddock. Grenadiers, together with the long-finned hake (p. 456) , 

 are the most abundant fish'" on the continental slope off the Gulf below 100 

 fathoms. 



" For a list of captures on the continental slope see Goode and Bean (1896, p. 394). 



