COD-FISHES. 79 



Lycodidce, Gadidce, Ophidiidce, and Macruridce ; the latter includes 

 a single family only — Pleuronectidce. 



The Gadidce, or Cod-fishes (Case 16), consist partly of littora [Case 16.] 

 and surface species, partly of deep-sea forms. The former are 

 almost entirely confined to the temperate zones, extending north- 

 wards beyond the Arctic circle ; the latter have, as deep-sea fishes 

 generally, a much wider range, and hitherto have been found chiefly 

 at considerable depths in rather low latitudes. Only two or three 

 species inhabit fresh waters. Cod-fishes form one of the most 

 important articles of food and subsistence to the fishermen in 

 Europe and North America, and to whole tribes bordering upon the 

 Arctic Ocean. The common Cod (Gadus morrhua) measures from 

 two to four feet, and attains to a weight of one hundred pounds. 

 It occurs between 50° and 75° N. lat., in great profusion, to a 

 depth of 120 fathoms, but is not found nearer the Equator than 

 40° lat. It is met with singly all the year round close to the 

 coast, but towards the spawning-time it approaches the shore in 

 numbers; this happens in January in England, and not before 

 May on the American coasts. The English resorted to the Cod- 

 fisheries of Iceland before the year 1415; but since the sixteenth 

 century most vessels go to the Banks of Newfoundland, and almost 

 all the preserved Cod consumed during Lent in the various 

 continental countries is imported from across the Atlantic. At 

 one time the Newfoundland Cod-fishery rivalled in importance the 

 Whale-fishery and the Far-trade of North America. Cod-liver oil 

 is prepared from the liver of the common Cod on the Norwegian 

 coast, but also other species of this genus contribute to this most 

 important drug. The Haddock (G. ceglefinus), the Whiting (G. 

 merlangus), the Bib or Pout (G. luscus), the Pollack (G. pollachius), 

 and the Coal-fish (G. virens) are other well-known species of the 

 same genus. The Hake (Merluccius vulgaris) is also found on 

 both sides of the Atlantic, and forms, preserved as " Stock fish," an 

 important article of trade. The Ling (Molva vulgaris), of which 

 a stuffed specimen and skeleton are exhibited in a separate case, 

 is likewise a very valuable species, from three to four feet long, 

 abundant in the north of Great Britain. The Rocklings (Onus) are 

 small fishes of which several species occur on the British coast. The 

 Burbot or Eel-pout (Lota vulgaris, fig. 65) is a freshwater fish 



