FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
155 
Order ANACANTHINI 
Family XXXVII.-GADID&. The codfishes 
Body more or less elongate; the caudal region moderately long; mouth large, usually terminal; 
chin with a barbel more or less developed; gill openings very wide; gill membranes separate or 
somewhat united, usually free from the isthmus; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; fins without spines; 
dorsal fins, 1, 2, or 3, extending almost over the length of the back; caudal fin separate or confluent 
with the dorsal and anal; anal fin long, single or divided; ventral fins jugular, with one to eight 
rays. Three genera of this rather large family come within the scope of the present work. 
KEY TO THE GENERA 
a. Dorsal fin divided into three separate parts; anal fin divided into two parts; ventral fins expanded, 
with about seven short rays. 
b. Lower jaw projecting; caudal fin forked; vent under first dorsal Pollachius, p. 155 
bb. Upper jaw projecting; caudal fin nearly square; vent under second dorsal Gadus, p. 156 
aa. Dorsal fin divided into two separate parts; anal fin long, undivided; ventral fins with two 
or three filamentous rays Urophycis, p. 158 
54. Genus POLLACHIUS Nilsson. Pollocks 
Body rather elongate; mouth moderate or large; lower jaw projecting; teeth in the jaws equal 
or the outer ones slightly enlarged; pointed teeth on vomer; none on palatines; gill membranes 
more or less united; barbel at chin small or obsolete; scales numerous; dorsal fins three; anal fins 
two; caudal fin lunate or forked; vent under first dorsal. 
72. Pollachius virens (Linnaeus). Pollock. 
Gadus virens Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. X, 1758, p. 253; seas of Europe. 
Pollachius virens Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 2534, PI. CCCLIX, fig. 886. 
Head 3.68 to 3.88; depth 4.53; D. 13 or 14-21-19 or 20; A. 24 to 28-20 or 21; scales 154 to 156; 
body rather elongate, somewhat compressed, tapering posteriorly; head conical; snout 2.84 to 3 
in head; eye 5.73 to 6.35; interorbital convex 3.28 to 3.80; mouth oblique; lower jaw projecting; 
maxillary scarcely reaching anterior margin of eye, 2.90 to 3.19 in head; teeth small, pointed, cardi- 
form, present on jaws and vomer, none of them notably enlarged; gill rakers rather long, slender, 
equal to diameter of pupil, 28 to 30 on lower limb of first arch; scales very small, cycloid; dorsal 
fins separate, first and second of about equal height, outer margin of first convex, margins of second 
and third nearly straight, the fins tapering posteriorly; caudal moderately forked; anal fins separate, 
outer margins gently rounded; ventrals small, inserted below posterior margin of gill cover, slightly 
in advance of pectorals, 3 to 3.37 in head; pectorals moderate, 2 to 2.31 in head. 
Color dark green above, silvery to silvery gray below; lateral line pale; dorsals and caudal dark 
green, anals bluish white; pectorals pale, ventrals white. 
This species was not observed by us in the field. The above description is based on three 
specimens, 450 to 460 millimeters (about 18 inches) in length, caught off Gay Head, Mass. Small 
pollock, below 15 inches in length are usually brownish green, while large pollock are dark green, 
with some dusky on the fins, particularly the caudal. Published accounts give the following range 
in the fin counts: First dorsal, 12 to 14; second dorsal 19 to 24; third dorsal 19 to 22; first anal 23 
to 27; second anal 20 to 23. 
This species was not secured during the present investigation. It is included here through the 
courtesy of Dr. William C. Kendall, who kindly permitted us to use his unpublished notes bearing 
upon certain investigations made in the vicinity of Hampton, Va., in 1894. We find a note, dated 
March 26, reporting the capture of a pollock 12 inches in length in a pound net. This fish is recog- 
nized by its projecting lower jaw, small ventrals, and forked caudal. It is also distinguished 
from all other species known from the Chesapeake (except the cod) by its three separate dorsal fins. 
The food of the pollock is reported to consist chiefly of small fish and of pelagic crustaceans. 
