— 93 — JOHS. SCHMIDT 



However this may be, it is certain from tlie available data, that Gadiculus repro- 

 duces everywhere in the Bay of Biscay in the neighbourhood of the 

 1000-meter line. 



12. Merliiccius vulgaris, Flem., Hake (Chart VlII) 



§ 1. Remarks on the identification 



The eggs are known with certainty from the Mediterranean through Raffaële's invest- 

 igations, but have not been identified from Atlantic waters. The postlarval young from 

 the earliest stages onwards are easily distinguished from all other species hitherto known. 



It is distinguished from Molva niolva, Baniceps and Onos by the presence of 3 post- 

 anal pigment bars, and from Brosmius and Molva byrkelange in that the hindmost bar 

 (I) is completely restricted to the end of the tail without extending out on to the embry- 

 onic fin. It is also remarkable in the early stages for its very plump form, and in that 

 the ventral fins are not so prolonged as in the genera Molva and Brosmius; lastly, the 

 unusual and very characteristic feature may be mentioned, that the abdominal and caudal 

 vertebrse are almost equal in number (ca. 25). For the rest I may refer to my earlier 

 papers and figures ("Merluccius", 1907). 



§ 2. General features of the occurrence 



Chart VIII, which also includes the young of Brosmius and Baniceps, applies to the 

 whole period April to September inclusive. Only the postlarval pelagic stages of Merluccius 

 are included, not the eggs or bottom stages. 



For various reasons, partly because the hake does not spawn in the regions we speci- 

 ally investigated, Iceland and the Faroes, partly because its main spawning time seems to 

 fall very late in the year in comparison with that of almost all other common gadoids, it 

 was some time before I obtained sufficient material to be able to identify the pelagic 

 fry of this species. It was only in the year 1906 on a cruise with the "Thor" in the Bay 

 of Biscay that the fry were for the first time taken in somewhat large quantities, and it 

 was only then that they could be studied in a more rational manner than previously; a 

 search through the collection of earlier years then discovered some specimens also from 

 other waters (Scotland, Ireland, Skager Rak). Nevertheless our discoveries of the pelagic 

 fry of the hake always seemed to be rather of a chance character, as we only rarely took 

 more than quite a few specimens each time, and I believe that this was due, partly to the 

 fact that we could not make a regular search before we had learnt to recognise them and 

 partly, to the late spawning time, as our investigations always came to an end shortly 

 after the beginning of September. It was therefore of great importance for this invest- 

 igation that I could obtain from Mr. E. W. L. Holt a number of samples taken in Irish 

 waters at various times of the year and in which the fry of the hake frequently occurred. 

 The Irish specimens are marked on Chart VIII, and as usual with the sign "Ir" to dis- 

 tinguish them from our own, and as will be seen, they contribute greatly to the elucidation 

 of the question where the main spawning places of the hake are within the regions in- 

 vestigated. 



With regard to the depths over which the pelagic fry of the hake occur, the Chart 

 shows directly that they were found both beyond the 1000-meter and within the 200- 



