486 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



Obi. The first colimin iiicliKlcs specimens respectively 82, 126, 

 nnd 153 mm. in length. The lenj;th of tlie specimens in the second 

 column varies between 150 and '210 nini. The earliest stages of 

 development thus do not appear in the talOc. 



Among the otliei* chanicteristics of the Polar Cod 

 both Peteus and Colle'I'T ha\-e remarked the mimerous 

 mucifei'0U8 pore.s on the head, which are set in rows, most 

 distinctly in the frontorostral ln-anches of the system of 

 the latei'nl line, between the eyes and on tlie snout, in 

 tlie anterior portion of the suborbital Ijranches, and in 

 the mandibular branches, both on the under j;iw and at 

 the hind margin of the preoperculum. The lateral line 

 projjer on the body runs fairly straight, at the top of 

 the abdominal region, but descends at the beginning of 

 the first dorsal tin. It is not very distinct, is made up 

 of elongated ducts, and often lireaks up, especially on tlie 

 hind part of the body, into irregularly scattered ducts ap- 

 pearing on the sides of the tail. The scales are small, ex- 

 tremely thin, and not imbricated'on any ))art of the body. 



In coloration the Polar Cod is one of the ])urest and 

 handsomest members of the genus, above light red, on 

 the l)ack itself and the snout brownish, below white or 

 silvery, and everywhere, though most densely on the 

 back, finely punctated Avith brownish red. The true 

 ventral side alone is sometimes without these small 

 spots. The dark, l)r()wnish pigment sometimes collects 

 into nearly l)lack bars and clouds on the vertical fins; 

 and a dark, irregular spot sometimes occurs on the 

 sides, above and ])ehind the insertion of the pectoral 

 fin, though it is apparently very rare, and never so 

 distinctly marked as in the Haddock. The pectoral 

 and ventral fins are also punctated. 



The geographical range of the Polar Cod fully 

 justifies its name. Pauhv found it amongst the drift ice 



in lat. 82'^ ^° N., and it occurs almost everywhere in the 

 strictly Arctic seas round tlie pole. The least Arctic 

 regions to which it penetrates, are tlie White .Sea, where 

 it lives in company with vardf/d, and Iceland, whence spe- 

 cimens were obtained by Steenstrit and described by 

 NiLSSox. (Jff Spitzbergen tlie Polar Cod has been taken 

 by all file Swedish expeditions in the sledge-net (little 

 trawl) and common dredge, at a depth of from 2 to .30 

 or 40 fathoms, on a stonj- bottom, among seaweed oi' 

 zoophytes. On the 17tli of August, 1878, in Magdalena. 

 Bay, the Norwegian Arctic Expedition took 72 specim(?ns 

 at a single liaul of the tra^vl in wvx deep \vater. At 

 the same time tlie Vega l-lx])editioii met with Polar Cod 

 in .'> — 10 fathoms of water in Taimyr Sound, and, soon 

 after the expedition had taken up its winter-quarters, off 

 Pitlekaj, the species was also fuund there. At St. Mi- 

 chaels's (Alaska) Tuhxer saw the Esiiuimaux catch Polar 

 Cod by angling at holes in the ice, in about 3' ^, fathoms 

 of water. GCntiiek" mentions a specimen that was taken 

 oft' Cape Hayes in Grinnell Land. According to Fabhi- 

 cius the Polar Cod is fairly common in winter, espe- 

 cially on the north coast of Greeidand, along the shore 

 and in the inlets. He states tliat it niay be easily 

 allured to the surface, especiallv at dusk, by splashing 

 in the water; and that even the Polar fox has learnt 

 this method of catching Polar Cod. In the White Sea 

 this form is often taken together with i/firat/d : but its 

 flesh, according to Paelas, is poorer than that of the 

 latter, and it is, therefore, not sent to St. Petersburg. 

 The Polar Cod lives principallv on fish-ova and 

 small crustaceans, especially Calaiu, and as they very 

 often accompany the drift ice, it follows their example. 

 In tills manner it mav very proliably wander on occa- 

 sion south of its strict geographical range. 



Up to tliis point none of the Gadoid species that 

 we have described, has been Avitliout a barbel under the 

 chin. In navar/a and saida the barbel is indeed small, 

 but is still present. In tlie tvpe of the following group, 

 the ^\'hiting, the l)arl)el, on tiie other hand, is gener- 

 ally wanting. This group possesses the prominent 



snout of the true Cods, l)ut is distinguislied from them 

 by the considerably greater length of the base of the 

 first anal fin, which, contrary to the general rule in 

 their case, here seems to undergo even relative in- 

 crease Avith age, as appears from the following aver- 

 ages : 



" Account of the Fishes collt-rted by Capt. Fiki.den between 78' and 83' N. Int.. dnring- tlie Arctii F.xpidition 1875 — Ij (I'roe. Zuol. 

 Sue. London 1877, p. 2'.I3). 



