436 
SO FT-FINN ED GROUP. 
and it is during the spawning-season that the tish is in the best condition for the 
table. The burbot is a fish of slow growth, not attaining full maturity till it is 
upwards of four years old. 
Ling and Rock- Distinguished from the burbot by the presence of several enlarged 
lings. teeth in the lower jaw and on the vomer, the ling {Molva vulgaris) 
may be regarded merely as a marine representative of that genus. The common 
burbot and wels, immature (£ nat. size). 
ling, which generally measures from 2 to 3 feet in length, is a northern form, 
ranging from the coasts of Greenland and Iceland to those of Britain and other 
parts of Northern Europe. In this fish the upper jaw is the longer, but the 
reverse condition obtains in a second Scandinavian species, and also in a third from 
the Mediterranean, which are the only other representatives of the genus. The 
ling-fishery is an important industry, large quantities of these fish being cured 
and dried. Belonging to the same group of the family as the ling, the rocklings 
(Motella ) are readily distinguished by the reduction of the first of the two dorsal 
