141 



POOR. 



Gadus Minutus. G. argenteus, dor so subfusco 3 maxilla superior e 



longiore, ana in media corporis. 

 Silvery Gadus, with brownish back, upper jaw longest, and 



vent in the middle of the body. 

 Gadus minutus. G. abdomine intus nigro. Block, pi. 67. f. I. 



Capclan. 

 The Poor. Penn. Brit. Zool. 3, p. 163. 



THIS is a small species, seldom exceeding six or 

 seven inches in length, and of a more slender form 

 than any of the preceding kinds. It is of a silvery 

 colour, brownish on the back, and marked with 

 dusky specks on the sides : the scales are very small 

 and thin: the head is of a somewhat sharpened 

 form, with the upper mandible longer than the 

 lower, and furnished with several rows of small and 

 sharp teeth: beneath the tip of the lower is a 

 cirrus: the lateral line is strait, and the vent is 

 situated at the middle of the body: it is remarkable 

 of this species that the abdomen is perfectly black 

 within, being lined with a peritonaeum of that 

 colour. The Poor is found in the Baltic and the 

 Mediterranean, as well as in some parts of the 

 Northern seas. Its appearance in the Mediter- 

 ranean is considered by the fishermen as the 

 precursor of the Cod, the Dorse, and the Haddock, 

 of which it is supposed to indicate very plentiful 

 shoals. It is reckoned a wholesome food, and is taken 

 both by the line and net. It is supposed to feed 

 chiefly on worms and sea-insects^ and deposits its 



