— 15 — JOHS. SCHMIDT 



(21)). The waters soulli of the large Outer Bank W. of Ireland witli temperatures of 

 more than 8" in 10Û0 meters depth. 



Further information regarding the depths and hydrographical conditions within the 

 regions investigated will bo found in tiie General Part (III). 1 may just mention here 

 that the Convener for Committee A, Dr. Johan H.iort, in his introduction to the various 

 papers |Which form this Report, prefers to include Iceland and the Faîroes in the Norwegian 

 Sea, whereas in tlie present paper only tiie parts of the waters which lie north of the 

 North Sea and east of the submarine ridge between Iceland and the Fseroes are reckoned 

 to the Norwegian Sea. 



1. Gadus saïda Lepechin, Polar Cod (Chart VI) 



§ 1. Remarks on the identification 



As shown in my Monograph ("Gadus", Part I), there are no difficulties in the way 

 of distinguishing the posthirval young of the polar cod from those of the cod, which is 

 the only species with which there might possibly be confusion. Within the genus Gadus 

 this form stands alone by reason of its extreme slenderness. Three postanal pigment bars 

 are present just as in the cod, but there is this difference, that in the polar cod the 

 hindmost bar (I) is either most strongly developed dorsally or the dorsal and ventral parts 

 are equally developed, whereas in the cod it is always the ventral part only which is 

 developed. There is a difference also in the number of vertebrae, this being considerably 

 larger in the polar cod than in the cod. On account of the scarcity of the polar cod 

 within the region investigated, however, I have not been able to count the vertebrae in 

 more than one specimen; this had 23 + 32, whilst the cod very rarely has more than 19 

 abdominal vertebrae (see p. 18). 



§ 2 and 3. General features of the occurrence; the geographical distribution 



In all the hauls the "Thor" has made in the course of years with the young-fish 

 trawl, the pelagic young of the polar cod has only been taken once, namely on the north 

 coast of Iceland, as can be seen from the Chart VI. From this Chart it can also be seen, 

 that older though not mature specimens were taken at a few places on the coast of Ice- 

 land, but only in the colder region, whilst further south in the Atlantic, at the Faeroes 

 etc., no trace of this fish has ever been found. It thus appears from our investigations, 

 that of the 17 species investigated Gadus saïda is the only gadoid which requires the 

 coldest waters for its development, and indeed it occurs only within the coldest parts 

 of the region, namely, on the northern and eastern coasts of Iceland. This 

 stauds in the greatest contrast to the other species of Gadus, and in order to emphasize 

 the peculiar features of its distribution as much as possible, I have entered Gadus luscus 

 (see under this species) on the same Chart. When we examine the material of this species 

 collected by the "Thor" more closely, we notice in the first place that the (10) pelagic 

 postlarval specimens taken in the haul mentioned on the north coast of Iceland (Stat. 151, 

 2nd July 1903, in Huna Bay E. of Cape North), Avere quite small, still without trace of 

 fins and with quite straight notochord at the end. We may conclude from this with 

 certainty, that they had been spawned in the neighbourhood of the spot where they were 



