LIFE-HISTORIES OF THE COD AND WHITING. 11 



tional pigment spots. The two " somewhat fainter " lines appear to correspond to the 

 two internal lines in fig. 10 above and below the notochord. These lines are therefore 

 common both to fig. 10 and the young whiting, whereas they certainly are not found 

 in the cod or green cod. All four lines terminate posteriorly in a similarly abrupt way 

 in both the whiting and in fig. 1 0, but the mass of pigment found on the head in the 

 former is entirely absent in the latter. In this respect fig. 10 differs from other gadoids 

 as well. Lastly, the mid ventral line below the abdomen in the whiting, together with 

 several scattered spots on the head, are absent in the form here described. Thus it 

 <liffers essentially from the earlier whiting in the absence of several diagnostic elements 

 of the black pigmentation. A sojourn for nine years in spirit, with imperfect preserva- 

 tion at the outset, may account for a good deal of this. 



Both fig. 10 and fig. 11 are distinctly more advanced than the stages of similar 

 length in the cod (cf. with figs. 3, 4, and 5). Thus fig. 10 falls between figs. 3 and 4 

 in size, and its mandibular inclination to the perpendicular is, if anything, more than in 

 the latter, whereas the oval shape of the swim-bladder puts it on a par with a cod of 8 

 mm., with which it is also comparable in the extent of the median dorsal fin and the 

 structure of the eye. Fig. 11, which is 7 '45 mm. long, and evidently the same species 

 as the preceding, shows even greater contrast with the cod of 8 mm. (fig. 5). In point 

 of fact, it is little behind the cod of 11 mm. (fig. 7). 



In the cod of 9 mm. the tail is still perfectly symmetrical though the fin is bifurcated, 

 but in this specimen the notochord is deflected and the hypural elements have 

 appeared. All the fins but the first dorsal are well formed, and the mandibular angle 

 is comparable to that of fig. 7. 



All these characters point, with some probability, to these two specimens belonging 

 to a smaller species than the cod, and so far it agrees with the whiting. The poor-cod 

 and the bib appear to be the only other possibilities (see below). 



At 9 mm. (fig. 12) the young whiting is clearly distinguishable. The pigmentation 

 is very thick and abundant, and its general distribution agrees very exactly with that of 

 the larval whiting. The external masses on the head, the dorsal and ventral lines, and 

 the internal abdominal masses, are all to be recognised, whilst a dorso-lateral and a 

 ventro-lateral line are also present, and a ventral line along the abdomen. 



The fins are continuous, but the positions of the dorsal and anal fins are outlined 

 and a certain number of rays may be recognised. Prof. M'Intosh* described a 

 whiting of 9 mm., which is at a slightly earlier stage than this specimen. In the 

 latter the posterior end of the notochord is bent upwards, which is not the case in the 

 former. 



The young whiting of 10 mm. and 11 mm. does not differ in essential features from 

 the above. The head becomes rather less prominent and the body becomes thicker, 

 obscuring the internal pigmentation. Up to 11 mm. the young whiting has, as remarked 



* Fifteenth Scottish Fishery Board Report, p. 201. 



