210 FISHES. 



Merlangus, Cuv. 

 Tlie Merlans, in which there are the same number of fins as the Cod, 

 but no cirri. 



Gadus merlangus, L. ; Bl. 65. (The Whiting). Well known 

 along the sea-coast for its abundance and the lightness of its flesh; 

 it is distinguished by its pale reddish-grey back and silvery belly, 

 and by the superior length of the upper jaw; the whole fish is about 

 a foot long. 



Gad. carhonarius,lj.\ Bl. 66; Le Colin, &c. (The Coal -fish). 

 Twice the size of the Whiting, and of a deep brown colour; the 

 upper jaw shorter ; lateral line straight; the flesh of the adult is 

 coriaceous, but it is salted and dried like the Cod* (a). 



Gad. pollachius, L. ; Bl. G8. (The Pollach). The jaws and 

 nearly the form of the carbonarius; brown above, silvery beneath; 

 flanks spotted. A better fish than the preceding one, and only in- 

 ferior to the Dorse and Whiting. They all inhabit the Atlantic, 

 and live in large troops f . 



Merluccius, Cuv. 

 But two dorsal fins and a single anal; the cirri deficient as in Mer- 

 langus. 



Gad. merluccius, L. ; Bl. 164, (The Hake). From one to two 

 feet in length, and sometimes much longer; the back brown-grey; 

 anterior dorsal pointed; the lower jaw longest. Great numbers are 

 taken in the Ocean and in the Mecliterranean, where the inhabitants 

 of Provence call it the Merlan ; salted and dried, it receives in the 

 north the name of Stock-fisch, which is also applied to the Cod % (b). 

 The 



Lota, Cuv., 

 To the two dorsals and one anal, adds a greater or less number of cirri. 

 Gad. molva, L. ; Bl. 60 §. (The Ling). From three to four 

 feet in length; olive above, silvery beneath; the two dorsals of an 

 equal height; the lower jaw somewhat shortest, and furnished with 

 a single cirrus. This fish, which is almost as abundant as the Cod, 

 is as easily preserved, and constitutes a fishery of nearly as much 

 importance II (c). 



* The common French name Colin is taken from its northern appellation of Kohl- 

 fisch, or Coal-fish. 



f AM, the Sey, Gadus virens, A scan. 25. 



+ Add, Cad. magellanicus, Forst, App., 151. Schn. p. \Q;—Gad. miraldi, Risso, 

 Ed. I, f. 13. 



§ Langa, Lavge, Ling, names of this fish in various northern countries. Molua, 

 a corruption of morrhua, applied to this species hy Charleton. 



II Add, Gad. hacchus, Forst, App., Bl. Schn., p. 53; — Lota elongata, Risso, Ed. II, 

 f. 47. . 



^^ (a) This is the Podley, Sillock, Cuddy, &c., of Scotland.— Eng. Ed. 



f^° (6) It is also called, with several other dried and salted fishes in this country, 

 Stock-fish.— Eng. Ed. 



|^° (c) It is prepared in this country almost exclusively for exportation, and is 

 extensively consumed in Ireland in Lent. — Eng. Ed. 



