The Periodic Growth of Scales in Gadidæ and Pleuronectidæ as an Index of Age

Abstract

The first part of a lengthened and detailed statistical paper on the structure and seasonal growth of Gadoid and Pleuronectoid scales will shortly be issued from the Marine Laboratory.The forthcoming paper will show by means of tabulated statistics that scale growth is accelerated during the warmer season of the year; but diminished during the colder season in such a methodic manner as to cause the formation of annual rings. The formation of these annual rings results from the fact that the lines of growth on the scale surface are comparatively widely separated from one another in that portion of the scale formed during the warmer season of the year; but much less widely separated in that part built up during the colder season.