THE COD FAMILY 



291 



were most frequent. The whiting is thus strongly addicted to 

 cannibaHsm. 



The excess in number of the female sex is a little greater in 

 the whiting than in the haddock, namely, 21 1 to 100 ; the females 

 are slightly larger, but the difference is not important, the 

 average length of females to that of males being as 104 to 100. 



On the east coast of Scotland the whiting spawns a little 

 later than the haddock and cod, the months being March, April, 

 May, and June. On the west coast of Ireland, March and 

 April were the principal months, and near Plymouth spawning 

 begins in February. The ripe fish are found at no great 

 distance from the shore and at no great depth, from two or 

 three miles upwards, and from 10 fathoms upwards. 



The eggs resemble those of cod, haddock, &c., but are 

 smaller than those of the cod, measuring I'O/ to r25 mm. in 



Fig. 132. — Larva of Whiting after absorption of the yolk, from a specimen hatched 

 in the aquarium ; after Prince. 



diameter. The fish spawn every year in the Plymouth Aquariu m 

 and the eggs are hatched without difficulty. 



The larva when first hatched is y6 mm. long, a little smaller 

 than that of the cod. It has been hatched from eggs taken 

 from the fish both at St. Andrews and at Plymouth. As in cod 

 and haddock the black pigment is confined to the body of the 

 larva, but in the whiting there are yellow pigment-specks on the 

 yolk-sac and fin-membrane. The recognition of the eggs and 

 larvae of these different fish, cod, haddock, whiting, &c., when 

 taken from the sea is a matter of some doubt and difficulty, 

 because of the close similarity. The larvae have been reared in 

 confinement for some days after the yolk was absorbed. There 

 is a large distension of the skin over the head, as in the cod. 

 The black pigment-specks at these stages extend without a 

 break along the upper and lower edges of the body. 



U 2 



