MITCHILL ON THE FISHES OF NEW-YORK. 369 



This fish appears under various forms, which makes his history diffi- 

 cult to write. I shall attempt an enumeration of the principal. 



(a) G. tomcodus fuscus, or brown torn cod; with the back and upper 

 parts of the sides a mottled brown or olive. Chin and belly often car- 

 nation. 



(b) G. tomcodus luteus, or yellow torn cod; with darker brown or 

 olive on the back and sides, intermixed with yellow there, and along 

 the belly. 



(c) G. T. luteo-pallidus, or yellowish white torn cod; with yellow and 

 white mixed with different shades of brown and olive. 



(d) G. T. pruinosus, or frostfish ; has been supposed by some to be 

 a different species. The reasons of this opinion are, 1. That the frost- 

 fish is said to be smaller ; 2. That in the frostfish the first ray of the 

 ventral fin is the longest, whereas, in the torn cod, the second ray is the 

 longest ; and, 3. In the frostfish there are five, six, or more bars or 

 zones of a brown colour along the sides, while the torn cod is merely 

 mottled. He is called frostfish because of his appearance more abun- 

 dantly after the commencement of the frosts in November ; though he 

 is caught in the salt waters of New- York all the year round. There has 

 been a variance noted in the rays of his fins wide enough, in the judg- 

 ment of some, to make him a distinct species. 



(e) G. T. mixtus, or mixed torn cod ; with yet other modifications of 

 colours, and with variations in the rays of the fins. 



Still the species and all its varieties are called, without any discrimi- 

 nation, torn cod, or frostfish, according to the fisherman's fancy. 



The difference of sex and age evidently increases the varieties of this 

 species. And so numerous and perplexing are they, that the specific 

 name might, with propriety, be multiform, or g. polymorphus. 



As far as I can ascertain, by reiterated countings, the more usual 

 number of the rays in the fins is as follows: branchial, seven; ventral 5 



49 



