THE COD TRIBE 2807 



scarcer to the north. Being free biters, they afford good sport with the line. The 

 coalfish (G. virens} is a closely allied but somewhat larger form, more northern in 

 its distribution, and taking its name from the black color it frequently assumes. 

 This fish is very common in the Baltic and other northern seas, numbers being 

 captured in the Orkneys. The largest specimen on record appears to be one men- 

 tioned by Buckland, which measured just over three and one-half feet in length, 

 and scaled twenty -five pounds. 



Before referring to this species it may be mentioned that a deep- 

 sea cod {Halargyrcus} , which has been taken off Madeira and New- 

 Zealand, belongs to a small group characterized by having two dorsal and two anal 

 fins. On the other hand, the hake (Merlucrius vulgaris] is the British representa- 

 tive of a genus belonging to a much larger group, characterized by having two 

 dorsals, a single anal, and a separate caudal fin. As a genus, the hakes are dis- 

 tinguished by the strong development of the pelvic fins, which are broad at the 

 base, as well as by the presence of strong teeth on the jaws and vomer, and the 

 absence of a barbel. The common hake is found on both sides of the North 

 Atlantic and other European seas; and is represented in the colder seas of South 

 America, as well as in those of New Zealand, by the allied M. gayi. The hakes 

 are peculiar in having the transverse processes of some of the trunk vertebrae 

 expanded and inflated, so as to form a kind of roof over the air bladder. In size 

 the common hake is a rather large fish, reaching two or even three feet in length. 

 On the Cornish coasts, which they frequent in numbers in pursuit of the shoals of 

 pilchards, hake have been taken in vast quantities, upward of forty thousand 

 having once been landed in a day at Mount's bay, while on another occasion eleven 

 hundred were taken in two nights by a single boat. When captured in the pil- 

 chard nets, these fish generally gorge themselves to such an extent on their fellow 

 captives as to become completely helpless. Although the flesh is coarse and of 

 inferior flavor, large numbers of hake are dried and salted. 



As an example of a fresh-water representative of the cod family, 

 we may refer to the well-known burbot or eelpout (Lota vulgaris) 

 which is the sole member of its genus, and is common in the rivers of Central and 

 Northern Europe and North America. Belonging to the group with two dorsals, 

 one anal, and a distinct caudal, the genus Lota has the first dorsal fin well 

 developed, with from ten to thirteen rays, the pelvics with several rays, the head 

 flattened, the body much elongated, and villiform teeth in the jaws and on the 

 vomer. The chin is furnished with a barbel. In length the burbot exceeds a yard, 

 and its flesh ranks high among fresh-water fish. Its form is shown in the upper- 

 most figure of the illustration on p. 2808. In Britain found only in the east of Eng- 

 land, where it is not uncommon in the Cam and the Ouse, the burbot is widely 

 distributed on the Continent, frequenting alike large rivers, small streams, lakes, 

 and pools. It prefers, however, deep to shallow water, being found in large lakes 

 at a depth of from thirty to forty fathoms; its color being then paler than is the 

 case with specimens from shallower water. From its habit of lying concealed 

 beneath stones or in holes on the river bank, the burbot in some parts of England 

 is known as the coney fish. Its food consists of the fry of other fishes, or the 



