434 Survey of Fishing- Grounds, West Coast of Ireland, 1890-1891. 



Gadus argenteus, Guichenot. The Silvery Pout. (Deep-sea.) 

 (PI. XLi., figs. 1 and la.) 



Gadiculus argenteus, 

 Gadus argenteus, 





. Guichenot, '' Explor. Alg^r. Poiss.," p. 102. 



. GiJNTHEE, " Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus.," viii., p. 341. 



. GuNTHER, "Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.," 1874, p. 138. 



. Day, " Zoobgist," vol. xliii., p. 312. 



. BouKNE, " Jour. M. B. A." (N. S.), vol. i., p. 310. 



. Holt, " Sci. Proc. Roy. Dub. Soc," vol. vii., 

 p. 122. 



Merlangus argenteus, . . . Vaillant, " Exp. Sci. Trav. Talism. Poiss.," p. 302. 



Guichenot's original genus Gadiculus, which was based, in part, on the avowed 

 absence of vomerine teeth, was overthrown by Giinther's discovery of such teeth 

 in the specimen taken by the "Porcupine" off the S. W. of Ireland, in 1867 

 The species under consideration, the only representative, had therefore to lapse 

 to the genus Gadus, and, in the existing classification, could only be placed in 

 the sub-genus Pollachius. In our opinion, however, the fish exhibits so many 

 important peculiarities as to justify the creation, for its reception, of a new 

 sub-genus, which we have defined above. It is certainly the most aberrant of 

 the Gadi, the character of specialization being essentially in the direction 

 associated with an abysmal habitat, although it is not actually confined to 

 depths beyond the reach of surface influences. 



The muciferous cavities, so far as can be judged from a careful examination 

 of many specimens, both in the fresh and preserved conditions, appear to be 

 entirely exposed to the action of the water, with no enveloping membrane. It 

 must be added, however, that all were more or less injured, the scales, and in 

 some cases, great part of the skin, having been frayed off, a result, no doubt, 

 attributable to the presence of an enormous number of " Sea Urchins" * in the 

 trawl. The specimen figured (PL xll, fig. 1) is the most perfect in the 

 Survey Collection, and was taken from the stomach of a larger fish. It is the 

 only one which permits of a computation of the number of rows of scales 

 crossing the lateral line, in this case 59. 



The muciferous cavities (fig. la) are much more conspicuous in adults than in 

 small examples, but they can be distinguished in specimens only If inch long. 

 Such, however, do not show the scaleless fossa on the nape, while the posterior 



* Spatanffus Raschii. 



