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FAMILY 32. GREENLINGS; HEXAGBASIMIDAE. 



This family is represented In our fauna by five species. In these 

 the body is covered with fine scales and the dorsal fins are united. A 

 single nostril is present on either side of the head. The anal fin is 

 elongate. They are carnivorous fishes of medium or large size inhabit- 

 ing the kelp beds of the North Pacific. Three of our species are classed 

 in the genus Hexagrammos and constitute the true greenlings. They 

 differ from the other members of the family in that the lateral line is 

 branched, as many as five parallel lines being present on the side. 

 The greenlings are often called Rock-trout and Kelp-cod. As they are 

 in no wise related to either the trout or the cod family it would seem 

 unfortunate to saddle these names upon the fishes. 



The Ten-lined Greenling, Hexagrammos decagrammus (Pallas), 

 (Fig. 55) attains a length of 18 inches and is an excellent food fish. 

 Five distinct divisions of the lateral line may easily be traced across 

 each side of the fish. Two pairs of small dermal flaps are present on 

 the head in this form, whereas only one pair occurs in other species of 

 greenlings. Scales are present over the entire surface of the cheek. 



The Red Greenling, Hexagrammos superciliosus (Pallas), (Fig. 

 53) can be separated from the preceding by the absence of one of the 

 pairs of small fleshy flaps on the head. It is extremely variable in 

 color and is often finely mottled, which make the common name some- 

 what of a misnomer. Scales are present on the sides of the head except 

 over the bony stay and the interopercular bone. It is equal in size 

 and food value to the preceding species. 



Steller's Greenling, Hexagrammos stelleri (Tilesius), (Fig. 56) 

 resembles the preceding species, but the cheeks and opercular bones 

 are almost free from scales and the dermal flaps are much smaller. 

 As in the other species, there is a wide range of color. 



The Ling Cod, Ohiodon elongatus (Girard), (Fig. 54) which is 

 also known as the Cultus Cod and Blue Cod, is one of our large and 

 valuable food fishes. It is marketed in the fresh state in large quan- 

 tities. Efforts have been made to can it, but the results have not been 

 entirely satisfactory. It attains a weight of 60 pounds and a length 

 of five feet. 



The Ling-cod, which by the way is related neither to the Lings 

 nor to the Cods, may be distinguished from other members of its fam- 

 ily by the presence of a single lateral line, the large mouth with power- 

 ful teeth, and the development of spines on the preoperculum. The 

 ground color is dark brown, much mottled with rusty spots, shading 

 into bluish green on the under side. 



The Painted Greenling, OxyleUus pictus (Gill), (Fig. 57) is one 

 of our most brilliantly colored fishes. It is common about docks where 

 it may be seen nosing up and down the piles. It attains a length of 



