PISCES. 145 



Habitat. East Indies. 



Hydrophis, Daud. Rostral plate broad, transverse; lower triangular; 

 nasal truncated or notched in front ; ventral shield flat ; head short ; eyes 

 small. 



H. obscura (Sea snake). East Indies. 



PISCES, 



GADUS (Cod). Order Jugulares. Family Gadidae. Characters. Body 

 elongate, but little compressed, covered with soft scales not very volumin- 

 ous ; head well proportioned and without scales ; fins soft ; jaws and front 

 of vomer armed with pointed, irregular teeth, middling or small-sized, in sev- 

 eral rows, forming a sort of curry-comb or rasp ; gills large, with seven rays. 

 Fins. Ventrals separate, jugular; generally with two or three fins on back ; 

 one or two behind anus ; and distinct caudal. Stomach in form of a large, 

 strong sac; caeca numerous and long; air-bladder large, with thick walls 

 (without duct), and often dentated upon sides. (Cuvier.) 



G. morrhua, Linn. Barbel rather long, as long as, or longer than the 

 eye, which is one-seventh of the length of the head, and one-half, or rather 

 more than one-half, of the width of the interorbital space. Snout more 

 than twice as long as the eyes, obtuse, with the upper end longest. The 

 height of the body is less than the length of the head, which is two-sevenths 

 of the total (without caudal). The vent is situated vertically below the an- 

 terior rays of the second dorsal. The two anal fins separated from each 

 other by an interspace. Proportions of the fins : 



ID. 2D. 3D. 1A. 2 A. 



1 i_3 i_i i_2 10-9 



Greenish or brownish olive, with numerous yellowish or brown spots on the 

 back and on the side. 



Swim bladder large, broad, and having at its anterior extremity a worm- 

 like process, which is held in relation to the muscles of the vertebral column. 

 At the upper third of the interior surface of the bladder a congerie of vessels 

 (wonder net) is seen, giving a reddish color to the lining membrane. Kidneys 

 of a blackish red, thickest at upper portions. Urinary bladder small, with two 

 appendages. Spleen long, small, triangular. Liver of a clear yellow color, 

 very large, of three lobes, the smallest of which lies beneath the stomach. 

 Gall bladder in the middle of the right lobe. (Brandt and Eatzeburg.) 



Habitat. The cod is found in the seas of the northern hemisphere from 

 the fortieth to the seventy-fifth degree. Coast of North Europe, Iceland, 

 and Greenland, southward to New York. (Giinther.) 



ACIPENSER. Class Ganoidei (Muller). Fishes with tabular or angular 



10 



