NORWEGIAN WHITING POLLACK. 
509 
of the third dorsal and second anal tins there is a 
break, behind which, though it may be indistinct, the 
depth of the tail decreases more rapidly. 
The head is comparatively smaller than in either 
of the two preceding species, and its relative length, 
contrary to the general rule in most of the species of 
this genus, seems to decrease with age, varying between 
about 2 4 7 2 and 22% % of lhat of the body. The eyes, 
on the other hand, are large; and their longitudinal 
diameter, as in the Poor Cod, is distinctly greater in 
young specimens than the length of the snout, and in 
old specimens at least equal to it. Their size varies 
considerably in different individuals. Their diameter 
varies with age between about 87 2 and 6 V 2 % of the 
length of the body, while the length of the snout varies 
still more individually between about 6 and 7 % thereof. 
The nostrils are situated as in the Pollack, but are 
somewhat larger. The mouth is also larger, the hind 
extremity of the maxillary bones extending farther 
back below the eyes, for about a third of the length of 
the latter, tvhile the length of the lower jaw is greater 
than in the Coalfish, but less than in the Pollack". 
This is due to the fact that the lower jaw does not 
project so far as in the latter species. A small barbel 
is suspended from the chin. The mouth is turned 
upwards at an angle of about 30°. The jaw-teeth are 
set, as in all the small Cods, in a very narrow card 
(2 — 4 rows) in front, and in a single row behind; and 
are small and of fairly uniform size, as in the other 
species of the Coalfish-group. On the head of the 
vomer they are set in a curved, obtuse-angled, trans- 
verse row. The hind margin of the gill-cover is some- 
what elongated just above the insertion of the pectoral 
tin, but the postorbital part of the head as a whole is 
shorter than in either of the two preceding species, its 
length varying with age between about 10 and 9 % 
of that of the body b . The branchiostegal membranes 
are united underneath into a free, continuous, dermal 
fold, which at the middle extends a little behind the 
posterior extremities of the branches of the lower jaw. 
The paired tins are pointed and longer than in 
the two preceding species of this group. The two 
uppermost rays of the pectoral fins are simple, the first 
being about 2 ,/ 3 as long as the second, which does not 
quite extend to the tip of the fin. The 3rd — 6th rays 
are the longest. The tip of these fins always extends 
behind the vent, their length varying with age between 
about 16 and nearly 19 % of that of the body. The 
first two rays of the ventral fins are also simple, and 
the second ray is the longest in the whole fin, though 
only slightly longer than the first. The length of these 
fins varies with age between about 11 and 13 % of 
that of the body, and their insertions lie distinctly in 
front of those of the pectoral fins. 
The unpaired fins are well separated, and are 
distinguished from those of the other species of this 
group partly by the more forward position of the 
dorsal fins, and partly by the greater length of the 
third dorsal and the second anal fins. 
The first dorsal fin is the highest, and when erected 
almost resembles a right-angled triangle, the base of 
which is about 10V 2 — 1 1 1 / 2 % of the length of the body, 
and which begins at a distance from the tip of the 
snout of about 28 — 27 % (sometimes 26 %) thereof. 
The first two rays are simple, the others (with the 
exception, according to the general rule, of the last of 
all) finely branched at the tip. The third ray is the 
longest, its length being about 13 — 15 % of that of 
the body. The second dorsal fin is more elongated, 
and its first two rays are also simple, the third ray 
being generally the longest, though only slightly longer 
than the second or fourth, and slightly shorter than 
the longest ray of the preceding fin. The distance 
between this fin and the tip of the snout is about 
387 2 — 41 %, and the length of its base about 20 — 
2 2 1 / 2 %, of the length of the body. The third dorsal 
fin begins at a distance from the tip of the snout 
measuring about 62 — 66 % of the length of the body, 
and the length of its base is between 18 and about 
17 % of the same length. The first three rays are 
simple, and the fourth, fifth, or sixth the longest, its 
length being about 10— 10 V 2 % of that of the body. 
The distance between the beginning of the first 
anal fin and the tip of the snout is between about 38 
(sometimes 3 6 1 / 2 ) and 41 % of the length of the body, 
and its base measures about 27 1 / 2 — 2 2 1 / 2 % of the latter. 
The first three (in young specimens the first four or 
five) rays are simple, and the fifth ray the longest, its 
“ The distance between the tip of the snout and the hind extremity of the maxillary bones varies with age between about 11 and 
9 1 / 2 % the length of the body, and the length of the lower jaw between about 1 3l /,, and 12.%' of the latter. 
4 In the two preceding species we have never found the postorbital length of the head less than 10 (A, 0 '» of the length of the body. 
