"Marine fishes, with elongate bodies, and the dorsal united with the anal fin."
Distribution.—Arctic seas of America and Greenland, and Antarctic seas about the Falkland Islands and Chiloe Island.
Family 54.—GADIDÆ. (21 Genera, 58 Species.)
"Marine fishes, with more or less elongate bodies covered with small smooth scales."
Distribution.—Cold and temperate regions of both hemispheres; in the North extending as far south as the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, New York and Japan (and one species to the Philippines and Bay of Bengal), and in the South to Chili and New Zealand.
Gadus (Cod), Merluccius (Hake), Phycis, Lota, Molva, Couchia, Motella, and Raniceps, are British. Lota inhabits fresh waters.
Family 55.—OPHIDIIDÆ. (16 Genera, 43 Species.)
"Marine fishes, with more or less elongate bodies, the dorsal and anal fins united, and the ventral fins rudimentary or absent."
Distribution.—Almost universal; from Greenland to New Zealand, but most abundant in the Tropics.
Ophidium and Ammodytes occur in British seas; Lucifuga inhabits subterranean fresh waters in Cuba.