COD-TRIBE. 



435 



specimen on record appears to be one mentioned by Buckland, which measured 

 just over 3£ feet in length, and scaled 25 lbs. 



Hakes Before referring to this species it may be mentioned that a deep- 



sea cod (Halargyreus), which has been taken off Madeira and New 

 Zealand, belongs to a small group characterised by having two dorsal and two anal 

 fins. On the other hand, the hake (Merluccius vulgaris) is the British representa- 

 tive of a genus belonging to a much larger group, characterised by having two 

 dorsals, a single anal, and a separate caudal fin. As a genus, the hakes are dis- 

 tinguished by the strong development of the pelvic fins, which are broad at the 

 base, as well as by the presence of strong teeth on the jaws and vomer, and the 

 absence of a barbel. The common hake is found on both sides of the North 

 Atlantic and other European seas ; and is represented in the colder seas of South 

 America, as well as in those of New Zealand, by the allied M. gayi. The hakes are 

 peculiar in having the transverse processes of some of the trunk-vertebras ex- 

 panded and inflated, so as to form a kind of roof over the air-bladder. In size the 

 common hake is a rather large fish, reaching 2 or even 3 feet in length. On the 

 Cornish coasts, which they frequent in numbers in pursuit of the shoals of 

 pilchards, hake have been taken in vast quantities, upwards of forty thousand 

 having once been landed in a day at Mount's Bay, while on another occasion eleven 

 hundred were taken in two nights by a single boat. When captured in the 

 pilchard-nets, these fish generally gorge themselves to such an extent on their 

 fellow-captives as to become completely helpless. Although the flesh is coarse and 

 of inferior flavour, large numbers of hake are dried and salted. 



As an example of a fresh-water representative of the cod family, 

 Burbot. L l , J 



we may refer to the well-known burbot or eel-pout {Lota vulgaris), 



which is the sole member of its genus, and is common in the rivers of Central and 

 Northern Europe and North America. Belonging to the group with two dorsals, 

 one anal, and a distinct caudal, the genus Lota has the first dorsal tin well 

 developed, with from ten to thirteen rays, the pelvics with several rays, the head 

 flattened, the body much elongated, and villiform teeth in the jaws and on the 

 vomer. The chin is furnished with a barbel. In length the burbot exceeds a yard, 

 and its flesh ranks high among fresh-water fish. Its form is shown in the upper- 

 most figure of the illustration on p. 436. In Britain found only in the east 

 of England, where it is not uncommon in the Cam and the Ouse, the burbot is 

 widely distributed on the Continent, frequenting alike large rivers, small streams, 

 lakes, and pools. It prefers, however, deep to shallow water, being found in large 

 lakes at adepthof from thirty to forty fathoms : its colour being then paler than is 

 the case with specimens from shallower water. From its habit of lying concealed 

 beneath stones or in holes on the river bank, the burbot in some parts o\' England 

 is known as the coney-fish. Its food consists of the fry of other fishes, or the 

 adults of the smaller kinds: and it is stated to be particularly destructive t<> the 

 perch. In the spawning-season, which varies considerably according to localities, 

 burbot are in the habit of congregating in Large numbers; and in some of the 

 German rivers masses of these fishes, including as many as a hundred individuals, 

 may be found knotted together after the fashion of eels. While some burbot 

 spawn in November and December, in others the function is delayed till March: 



