708 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



St Lawrence to Virginia, being very common northward. It is 

 sometimes found in waters as deep as 300 fathoms. The squirrel 

 hake occurs occasionally in Gravesend bay; it lives usually in 

 the deep water off shore. 



At Woods Hole Mass, according to Dr Smith, it is abundant in 

 May and June, and in October and November. It fills the traps 

 and causes the fishermen much annoyance, as they can not sell 

 the fish. Its weight there is from 2 to 5 pounds. In Massachu- 

 setts bay it is less abundant than the common hake. It was 

 described and figured by Storer in 1867, under the name 

 Phycis filamentosus. 



Genus GAIDROPSARUS Rafinesque 



Body rather elongate, covered with minute scales; head not 

 compressed, the upper jaw the longer; snout with two conspicu- 

 ous barbels, the chin with one; teeth on jaws and vomer in 

 bands, palatines toothless; dorsals two, the anterior of a single 

 long ray followed by a series of short fringelike rays concealed 

 in a groove; second dorsal and anal long, similar to each other; 

 caudal rounded or lanceolate; ventral rays 5 to 7. Small fishes 

 of the northern seas, descending to deep water. 



353' Gaidropsarus argentatus (Reinhardt) 

 Silvery Rookling; Mackerel Midge 



Motella argentata REINHARDT, Dansk. Vidensk. Selskrift. Afh. VII, 128, 



1838, Greenland. 



Couchia argentata GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. IV, 365, 1862. 

 Ciliata argentata GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 241, 1863. 

 Onos reirihardti GILL, op. cit 241, 1863; JOKDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. 



Nat. Mus. 797, 1883; GOODE & BEAN, Oceanic Ichth. 383, 1896. 

 Gaidropsarus argentatus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 



Ill, 2559, 1898; IV, pi. CCCLXVII, fig. 906, 1900. 



The length of the body is five times the length of the head. 

 Head depressed, but rather pointed anteriorly; snout rather 

 short, with two barbels; chin with one; teeth in villiform bands, 

 those of one series in each jaw longer than the rest; first ray 

 of first dorsal short, little longer than snout; vent near middle 

 of length; distance from snout to first dorsal three tenths of 

 length. D. 56; A. 45; V. 8. 



