THE COD FAMILY. 241 



notochord dorsal wards. The eye is not so large proportionately, 

 and the nasal region elongates, causing the mandible to become 

 more horizontal in position. The pigment becomes more abun- 

 dant and is chiefly distributed in dorsal, ventral and lateral 

 longitudinal bands, together with large patches on the head and 

 stomach. This represents a series having an average length of 

 •375 inch. 



Shortly afterwards the young cod retire from their life in the 

 upper water and seek the lower regions of the sea, where rapid 

 growth takes place, the little fishes being nearly an inch in 

 length at a date about 5 weeks after the stage last-mentioned. 

 The transverse bars are visible in some, and the abdomen 

 shows a pale orange-tint from the crustacean diet. The barbel 

 now appears. As growth proceeds, the body assumes a brownish 

 tinge and black pigment is aggregated along the sides. At the 

 end of May and during June and July, these little fishes may be 

 found in the shallow rock-pools at ebb-tide in company with 

 green cod, from which they are readily distinguished (at 35 mm.) 

 by the reddish hues of the head and the beautifully variegated 

 body — which upon a pale greenish ground is dotted all over 

 with black pigment-specks, while large ones occur over the 

 brain, and on each side along the dorsum. The first two dorsals 

 are also dotted with black pigment enlivened with touches of 

 opalescent bluish; touches of the same hue occur at intervals 

 along the middle line of the dorsum when viewed from above, one 

 of the brightest being between the second and third dorsal fins. 

 The pale patches between the dark bars on the sides have a 

 beautiful pearly lustre. About eight dark blotches are placed 

 along the median line, and as these are flecked by darker patches 

 in the upper lateral region, they give a characteristic appearance 

 to the fish. The upper lateral region (just above the lateral 

 line) shows, from the operculum backward, nine dark spots.- 

 The first three are continued downward to the silvery belly and 

 then cease. The rest have connections with a series of median 

 spots — five in number — in the middle line, bands in several 

 instances passing from two upper spots to one median, and 

 again bifurcating inferiorly. The lower part of the gill-region 

 and the belly are silvery, and in certain views the sides 



M. r, 16 



