36 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Gadus morrhua var. Cod. 



The codfishes devour a great variety of Crustaceans, Annelids, Mol- 

 lusks, starfishes, &c. They swallow large bivalve shells, and after di- 

 gesting the contents spit out the shells, which are often almost unin- 

 jured. They are also very fond of shrimps, and of crabs, which they 

 frequently swallow whole, even when of large size. The brittle-star- 

 fishes (Ophiurans) are also much relished by them. I have taken large 

 masses of the Opliiopholis aculeata from their stomachs on the coasts of 

 Maine and Labrador ; and in some cases the stomach would be distended 

 with this one kind, unmixed with any other food. 



In this region I have not been able to make any new observations on 

 the food of the cod. This deficiency is partially supplied, however, by 

 the observations made by me on the coast of Maine, &c, coupled with 

 the very numerous observations made at Stonington, Conn., many years 

 ago, by Mr. J. H. Trumbull, who examined large numbers of the stom- 

 achs of cod and haddock, caught within a few miles of that place, for 

 the sake of the rare shells that they contained. This collection of shells, 

 thus made, was put into the hands of the Rev. J. H. Linsley, who in- 

 corporated the results into his " Catalogue of the Shells of Connecti- 

 cut," which was published after his death, in a somewhat unfinished 

 state, in the American Journal of Science, Series I, vol. xlviii, p. 271, 

 1845. In that list a large number of species are particularly mentioned 

 as from the stomachs of cod and haddock, at Stonington, all of which were 

 collected by Mr. Trumbull, as he has informed me, from fishes caught 

 on the fishing-grounds near by, on the reefs off Watch Hill, &c. Many 

 other northern shells, recorded by Mr. Linsley as from Stonington, but 

 without particulars, were doubtless also taken from the fish-stomachs 

 by Mr. Trumbull. There was no record made of the Crustacea, &c, 

 found by him at the same time. 



The following list includes the species mentioned by Mr. Linsley as 

 from the cod. For greater convenience the original names given by him 

 are added in parentheses, when differing from those used in this report : 



List ofmollusTcs, dr., obtained by Mr. J. II. Trumbull, from codfish caught 



near Stonington, Conn. 



GASTROPODS. 



Sipho Islandicus (?), young, (Fusus corneus). 

 Ptychatractus ligatus (Fasciolaria ligata). 

 Turbonilla interrupts (Turritella interrupta). 

 Turritella erosa. 



Rissoa exarata ('?) (Cingula arenaria). 

 Lunatia immaculata (Xatica immaculata). 

 Amphisphyra pellucida (Bulla debilis). 

 Chiton mannoreus (?) (Chiton fulminatus). 



