THE BONY FISHES. 157 



Order 6. Body usually com- 

 pressed; all the bones and fins 



well developed Teleocephali. Salmon, Perch, Cod. 



Order 7. Head and mouth very 



large; pectoral fins supported 



by slender bones Pediculati. Lophius, Angler. 



Order 8. Gills tufted; body long 



and slender Lophobrancliii. Sea-horse. 



Order 9. Bones of upper and lower 



jaw united; often rounded and 



spiny Plectognaihi. Tetrodon, Sunfish. 



The Eels The common eel (Anguilla acutirostris, Fig. 

 160) occurs on both sides of the Atlantic, on the North 

 American coast as far south as Cape Hatteras, and in inland 



FIG. 160. Common Eel, Anguilla acutirostris. 



rivers and lakes. The males are extremely rare, only four 

 having been found in this country. It is probable that the 

 eel descends rivers in October and November, spawning in 

 the autumn and early winter at the mouths of rivers, and in 

 harbors and estuaries in shallow water. By the end of the 

 spring the young eels are two or three inches long, and then 

 ascend rivers and streams. They grow about an inch a 

 month, and the females do not spawn at least before the 

 second year, i.e., when about twenty inches long. Mr. 

 Mather estimates that the ovary of an eel weighing six 

 pounds when in spawn contains upwards of 9,000,000 

 eggs. 



The Pelican Fish. A very strange fish of unknown af- 



