THE COD FAMILY 305 



identified as those of the sand-eel. There is a remnant of yolk 

 in these, and the vent is in the middle of the body. Larvae of 

 the same length are taken in August. Attempts have been made 

 to explain these facts : it would appear either that the two species 

 have different spawning seasons, one in January and February, 

 the other in June and July, or that the same species spawns 

 twice in each year, or that the larvae taken in March were 

 hatched in the previous autumn, the spawning period extending 

 for some time beyond July. The last supposition, which seems 

 to me the most improbable, is the one favoured by the naturalist 

 who specially studied the sand-eel at Dunbar. The fact that 

 specimens of the greater sand-eel which were obtained at St. 

 Andrews in May, appeared to be very nearly ripe and contained 

 some ripe eggs, is opposed to the supposition that this species 

 spawns in autumn or winter. 



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