COD TRIBE. 



43 J 



pelvic fins, if present at all, being of small size, jugular in position, and attached 

 to the pectoral arch; while the gill-opening is narrow, and the gill-membrane 

 attached to what is known as the isthmus, that is to say, the space on the chest 

 intervening between the two branches of the lower jaw and the gill-openings. In 

 the typical genus, of which a species (Lycodes murcena) is represented in our 

 illustration, the elongated body is either naked or covered with minute scales 

 embedded in the skin ; the lateral line is more or less indistinct ; the eyes are of 

 medium size ; and the lower jaw is overlapped by the upper. The small and 

 rudimentary pelvic fins are formed of a few rays ; conical teeth are present not 

 only in the jaws, but likewise on the palatines and vomer; the gill-opening is 

 narrow; and there is neither a barbel nor an air-bladder. While the majority 

 of the species (among which is our figured example) are from the Arctic seas a few 

 are found in the seas surrounding the Antarctic extremity of South America. In 

 Spitzbergen and off Behring Island the eel-like lycodes is taken at depths of from 



EEL-LIKE LYCODES ( nat. size). 



350 to 500 fathoms. In the allied genus Gymnelis, which is of especial interest 

 from a geographical point of view on account of one species inhabiting the seas 

 around Greenland, while the second comes from the Straits of Magellan, there 

 are no pelvic fins, and the two jaws are of equal length. A third genus, Uronectes, 

 from Baffin Bay, agrees with the last in the absence of pelvic fins, but differs in 

 that the lower jaw is the longer. Three other genera are respectively represented 

 by species from Panama, Australia, and the Straits of Magellan. 



THE COD TRIBE. Family 



Equalled only in this respect by the mackerels, flat-fish, salmon, and herrings, 

 the cod tribe form a family of the utmost importance from a commercial point of 

 view, and therefore demand a somewhat detailed notice. They are specially 

 characterised by the pelvic fins being generally composed of several rays : and 

 by the caudal being either free, or, if united with the median fins, by the first 



