32^^ PISCES. 



THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTERYGII SUB-BRACHIATI. 

 Gadid^ (the Cod Family). 



This family are almost wholly included in the great genus Gadus, easily known by having the 

 ventrals inser.ed under the throat, and pointed. The body is moderately long, a little compressed, 

 and covered with small soft scales ; the head is well-proportioned, but naked: all their fins are soft ; 

 the jaws and front of the vomer have unequal-pointed teeth, of medium or small size, disposed in 

 several rows, like a card or rasp ; the gill-openings are large, and there are seven rays. Most of them 

 have two or three fins on the back, some behind the vent, and a distinct caudal fin. The stomach is a 

 large and strong sac; and the intestine long, with numerous coeca. The air-bladder is large and strong, 

 and often notched in the margins. The greater number live in the cold or temperate seas, and furnish 

 a most important branch of the fisheries. Their flesh is white, easily separable into flakes, and, gene- 

 rally speaking, wholesome, easy of digestion, and agreeable to the palate. [Taken altogether, they are 

 probably more really serviceable to Man than any other family of fishes. Their reproductive powers 

 are great, and their numbers countless ; and they have the advantage of being generally found in vast 

 shoals, at particular places.] They can be subdivided as follows : — 



Morrhua, Cod, properly so called, with three dorsals, two auals, and a cirrus at the point of the lower jaw. They 

 are tbe most numerous and valuable of the family, consisting ofthree sections, or species :—G. morrhua, the Cod, 

 two or three feet lono^, with the back spotted brown and yellow ; inhabits all the north seas, and multiplies exceed- 

 ingly in the colder latitudes. They are taken in vast numbers for salting, and also for immediate use. [Their 

 appearance and quality vary a good deal with the nature of the ground.] G. leglefinns, the Haddock, brown on 

 the back, silvery on the belly, with the lateral line, and a spot behind the pectoral fin, black. Almost as numerous 

 in northern latitudes as the Cod, but less esteemed. [When the Haddock is taken in deep and clear water, it is 

 perhaps the most delicate, and at the same time the most savoury of the whole family ; but it does not take salt 

 so well as Cod.] G.callariiis, the Dorse, spotted like the Cod, but smaller, and with the upper jaw longest. It is 

 much esteemed in the north, when eaten fresh. [Besides these, there are various sub-species, or varieties, of all 

 the three kinds, some of them found on the British shores.] 



Merlangus, the Whiting, with the same fins as Cod, but no cirri. Of these, G. mcrlangus, the Wliiting, is well 

 known from its abundance, and the lightness of its flesh. It is pale, reddish grey above, silvery below, has a long 

 upper jaw, and is about a foot in length. G. f«r6o«ff)7'i««, the Coal-fish, twice the size of the W^hiting, blackish 

 brown, with the upper jaw short, and the lateral line straight. The flesh of the full-grown one is coarse and tough, 

 but it takes salt like Cod. G. polacMus, the Pollock, jaws like the Coal-fish, brown above, spotted on the flanks, 

 and silvery below. It is abundant in the Atlantic ; and better than the Coal-fish, but inferior to the Whiting. 



Merluccius, the Hake, with only two dorsals, one anal, and no cirri, sometimes exceeds two feet ; the back 

 brownish grey, the first dorsal pointed, and the lower jaw longest. It is a coarse fish, but captured in great 

 numbers, and salted. There are some species in high southern latitudes. 



Lota, the Ling (which means the Long Fish), has two dorsals, one anal, and some cirri at the mouth. G. molva, 

 from three to four feet long, olive above, silvery beneath, dorsals equally high, lower jaw a little shorter than the 

 upper, and with a cirrus. This species salts well, and is not inferior to Cod : hence it is a very valuable object in 

 the fisheries. 



G. lota, the Burbot, from one to two feet long, yellow mottled with brown, dorsals of equal height, and one 

 cirrus ; head slightly depressed, and body cylindrical. It ascends rivers, and its flesh and flavour are highly 

 esteemed. [The livers of most of the family are large, and furnish a great deal of oil, highly valuable in the dress- 

 ing of leather, and other operations of the arts.] 



Moiella, the Rockling. Body lengthened, first dorsal scareely perceptible, second and anal very long, and three 

 or more cirri. M. vulgaris, the Three-bearded Rockling, has two cirri on the nose, and one on the lower jaw. It 

 is fawn-coloured, with brown spots. M. quinqiiecirrata, the Five-bearded, has four cirri on the upper part, and 

 one on the chin. It is dark-brown on the upper part, and seldom attains any considerable size. 



M. glauca, theMackarel Midge, is about an inch and a quarter long, bluish-green on the npper part, and silvery 

 below, and on the fins. M. argenteola, the Silvery Gade, is also a small fish, with three cirri, and coloured nearly 

 like the former. 



Brosmius, the Torsk, is a northern species, with a long body, a dorsal along the whole back, one barbule on the 

 under jaw, and the ventrals fleshy. It grows to the largest size in its native north. 



Brotula, from the West Indian seas, with the dorsal, -anal, and caudal, forming one fin, which ends in a point. 



Phycis, Fork-beard, have a single ray in each ventral, which is produced and forked. They have also a small 

 barbule on the chin. There are one or two British species. 



Raniceps, the Tadpole Fish, has the head broad and depressed, and the first dorsal scarcely visible. 



Lepidoleprus, a separate genus, having some relation to the Cod. Their suborbitals are united with the nasal 

 bone, and form a depressed muzzle, advancing before the mouth, which, however, retains its mobility. Head 

 and body with hard spinous scales; the ventrals are a little on the throat; the pectorals of mean size; the first 

 dorsal high ; the second dorsal, anal, and caudal united ; the jaws short ; the teeth fine and short. They inhabit 



