'S 



LAMPREYS AND FISHES 



Distribution, — Only east of the Mississippi and Saskatche- 

 wan Rivers ; from northern Georgia to Labrador and Hudson 

 Bay. 



Fig. 2^2. — American eel, Anguilla hostoniensis. 



Eels — A nguillidcB 



American eel, Anguilla bostoniensis. — Fresh water eels 

 (Fig. 272) are snake-like fishes which live in fresh water from 

 their early youth to breeding time and then migrate into salt 

 water, probably never to return again. The eels which come 

 up the streams are the young ones of another generation which 

 have traveled the long and unknown way from the sea. 



Fullgrown eels are about three feet long, plain colored, 

 greenish brown above and pale greenish gray beneath. Every 

 inch of their bodies is sinuous and flexible, well earning the 

 phrase "squirms like an eel." 



During their fresh water sojourn eels usually live on the 

 muddy bottoms of streams or in stream-fed ponds. Although 

 they generally seek deep streams they often work their way 

 up brooks along the coast. It is a surprising but not a unique 

 experience to catch an eel on the hook which is meant for a 

 brook trout. Sometimes eels come out of the water and hide 

 under stones in swampy ground a few feet from the shores and 



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