Fins without spines; caudal, if present, without expanded hypural, perfectly symmetrical, and supported by the neural and haemal spines of the posterior vertebrae and by basal bones similar to those supporting the dorsal and anal rays. This type of caudal fin must be regarded, as I have pointed out,[[710]] as secondary, the Gadidae being, no doubt, derived from Fishes like the Macruridae, in which the homocercal fin had been lost. The scapular foramen or fenestra is nearly always between the scapular and coracoid bones, as in the Trachinidae and several allied families, not in the coracoid, as in the other Acanthopterygians. The first two vertebrae have no epipleurals.
Mr. C. Tate Regan,[[711]] who has recently given a good definition of the Anacanthini, divides them into three families.
Fig. 396.—Skeleton of caudal fin of Gadus virens.
Fam. 1. Macruridae.—Mouth more or less inferior, protractile; teeth small, none on palate. Anterior vertebrae without transverse processes, with the ribs sessile, the rest with strong transverse processes supporting the ribs, which themselves bear epipleurals. Gill-membranes free from isthmus or narrowly attached; 6 or 7 branchiostegal rays; gills 3½ or 4; pseudobranchiae rudimentary or absent. Ventral fins below the pectorals, with 7 to 12 rays. Body short, tail elongate and tapering to a point, without caudal fin. A short anterior dorsal, with a single simple ray, and a long dorsal and anal meeting together at the end of the tail, formed entirely of articulated rays—the two dorsals sometimes continuous (Lyconus).
Deep-sea Fishes with very large eyes and small or rather large mouth, usually covered with rough spiny scales; a mental barbel is present, except in Lyconus, and the muciferous cavities of the skull are strongly developed, the bones being remarkably thin. About 120 species are known, some of which have a wide distribution. Macrurids have been found in all the seas where deep-sea dredging has been practised—the greatest depth at which they have been obtained being 2650 fathoms. Principal genera: Macrurus, Gadomus (with perforate scapula) Coryphaenoides, Hymenocephalus, Malacocephalus, Lionurus, Trachyrhynchus, Steindachneria, Bathygadus, Lyconus, Macruronus. A larval form of this family has received the name of Krohnius; it is remarkable for the filamentous prolongation of the ventral rays, which recalls the larval Trachypterus.
Fig. 397.—Macrurus carminatus, × ⅓. (After Goode.)
Fam. 2. Gadidae.—Mouth moderate or large, more or less protractile. Anterior vertebrae without transverse processes, with the ribs sessile, the rest with strong transverse processes, usually supporting ribs,[[712]] which themselves bear epipleurals. Gill-membranes free from isthmus or narrowly attached; 6 to 8 branchiostegal rays; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; no pseudobranchiae. Ventral fins jugular, with 1 to 9 soft rays. Body more or less elongate, covered with small cycloid scales. Dorsal and anal fins elongate, formed of articulated rays, sometimes divided into two or three distinct portions. Caudal fin more or less distinct, supported by the unmodified or but slightly modified neural and haemal spines of the last vertebrae, which are perfectly symmetrical (diphycercal or isocercal type).
A mental barbel is often present, as in the Macruridae, and the suture between the frontal bones has disappeared in most of the members of this very natural family. About 120 species are distinguished, mostly marine, many being adapted to life at great depths. All are carnivorous. They inhabit chiefly the northern seas, but many abyssal forms occur between the tropics and in the southern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific. Principal genera: Gadus, Merluccius, Holargyreus, Lotella, Physiculus, Phycis, Haloporphyrus, Tripterophycis, Lota, Molva, Onus, Bregmaceros, Antimora, Raniceps, Brosmius.