COD TRIBE— SAND-EELS — SALMON— HERRING 293 



a black spot at the base of each- pectoral fin. Of inferior quality is the coal-fish 

 (G. virens), so named on account of the blackness of the upper-parts. In this fish, 

 which has more than fifty English popular names, the lower jaw projects beyond 

 the upper, thus affording an easy means of distinction from the three preceding 

 species. It is further characterised by carrying a small barbel, and by the 

 straightness of the lateral line, which is white. In habitat it is a North Atlantic 

 species, occurring commonly as far north as latitude 80°, but only singly in the 

 Mediterranean and Baltic. In America this fish is miscalled the pollack, although 

 the fish (G. pollachius) properly entitled to that name is confined to the west coast 

 of Europe, and is a much handsomer species, showing golden and silvery tints on 

 the sides. 



The other members of the group, all characterised by the presence of one 

 anal and two dorsal fins, include the hakes, among which the European Merluccius 

 vulgaris is a small-scaled fish of elongated form with large, pointed teeth and no 

 barbels. In colour it is brownish grey speckled with black above and silvery 

 white beneath. From this species the ling (Molva vulgaris) differs by possessing 

 a barbel, while the lower teeth are alone large, and the median fins bordered 

 with white. Another genus of the group with a much more extensive distribu- 

 tional area is the one which includes the rocklings (Motella). In these fish both 

 dorsal and anal fins are single, the front portion of the former being reduced to a 

 mere fringe with the first ray long and spiny. In the allied genus Raniceps, on 

 the other hand, the dorsal fin is double, although the first is rudimentary and 

 includes but three rays. In British seas this group is represented by the lesser 

 hake (R. raninus). Another British cod, the torsk (Brosmius brosine), which 

 possesses but one dorsal fin extending along the greater part of the back, is a deep- 

 water fish, ranging southwards from the Arctic seas, and frequently found in 

 company with ling, both being well-known food-fishes in the north of Europe. 

 In these fishes the anal fin commences near the throat, but in the allied sand-eels 

 it is placed much farther back. 



Of the not very numerous species, the larger sand-eel (Am- 

 modytes lanceolatus) occurs commonly on the eastern coasts of the 

 North Atlantic, and in the Baltic, as well as in the Mediterranean, where it burrows 

 in the sand, and subsists on worms and other invertebrates. Owing to its silvery 

 skin, it is much used as bait by fishermen. The lesser sand-eel (A. tobianus), 

 which has similar habits and much the same distribution, is distinguished by the 

 fins being curved in outline instead of straight. 



__. The great salmon family includes both marine and fresh- water 



Salmon Tribe. ° J . 



forms, and although some are restricted to the deep sea, those most 

 familiarly known are either in the habit of ascending rivers to spawn, or spend 

 the whole of their time in the latter. The carps, being exclusively fresh-water, need 

 no mention here. 



„ . __, The herrings, on the other hand, are as characteristically marine 



Herring Tribe. ° J 



fishes, but are seldom found far from shore, although they range 

 throughout the temperate and tropical zones. The first group includes the 

 numerous kinds of anchovy, among which the common Engraulis encrasicholus is 

 confined to the European side of the North Atlantic, ranging from Norway to the 



