AMl'llIUMIDAE 



lOI 



front of the fuiv-liiiil).s lies the })<iir of small gill-rlclLs, each 

 guarded hy two flaps of the skin. There are four l)ranehial arches. 

 Tlie general colour nl' this eel-shaped creature is l)lack, lighter 

 lielow. The head is covered witli numerous pores, arranged in 

 several rows, which unite in the region ol' the neck, so that only 

 two rows extend along the sides of the body. It reaches a 

 length of three feet, and lives in swamps or muddy waters. 



Fig. 18. — Amijlihima means. x i. 



for instance in the ditches of rice-fields, burrowing occasionally in 

 the mud, feeding on crayfishes, molluscs, small fishes, etc. It is 

 confined to the south-eastern States of North America, from 

 Carolina to Mississippi. According to Davison,^ copulation takes 

 place in May. The rather hard-shelled eggs are deposited in the 

 following August or Septemljer, and are connected by a twisted 

 cord. The female lies about them in a coil. The embryos, which 

 are hatched in the month of November or Decend)er, have well- 

 developed external gills. B}' the following February they have 



1 J. Morphol. xi. 189,'., p. 375. 



