COD TRIBE. 
43 1 
pelvic fins, if present at all, being of small size, jugular in position, and attached 
to the pectoral arch; while the gill-opening is narrow, and the gill-membrane 
attached to what is known as the isthmus, that is to say, the space on the chest 
intervening between the two branches of the lower jaw and the gill-openings. In 
the typical genus, of which a species (. Lycodes murcena) is represented in our 
illustration, the elongated body is either naked or covered with minute scales 
embedded in the skin; the lateral line is more or less indistinct; the eyes are of 
medium size; and the lower jaw is overlapped by the upper. The small and 
rudimentary pelvic fins are formed of a few rays; conical teeth are present not 
only in the jaws, but likewise on the palatines and vomer; the gill-opening is 
narrow; and there is neither a barbel nor an air-bladder. While the majority 
of the species (among which is our figured example) are from the Arctic seas a few 
are found in the seas surrounding the Antarctic extremity of South America. In 
Spitzbergen and off Behring Island the eel-like lycodes is taken at depths of from 
EEL-LIKE LYCODES (§ nat. size). 
350 to 500 fathoms. In the allied genus Gymnelis, which is of especial interest 
from a geographical point of view on account of one species inhabiting the seas 
around Greenland, while the second comes from the Straits of Magellan, there 
are no pelvic fins, and the two jaws are of equal length. A third genus, Uronectes, 
from Baffin Bay, agrees with the last in the absence of pelvic fins, but differs in 
that the lower jaw is the longer. Three other genera are respectively represented 
by species from Panama, Australia, and the Straits of Magellan. 
The Cod Tribe. —Family Gadid^e. 
Equalled only in this respect by the mackerels, flat-fish, salmon, and herrings, 
the cod tribe form a family of the utmost importance from a commercial point of 
view, and therefore demand a somewhat detailed notice. They are specially 
characterised by the pelvic fins being generally composed of several rays; and 
by the caudal being either free, or, if united with the median fins, by the first 
