FISHES OF XEW YORK 173 



over a large extent of the bottom. These stakes project from 

 four to six feet above the surface of the water. At Blue Point 

 cove, Great River beach and Fire Island we found five individuals 

 of a kind of eel known to the fishermen as silver eel. These were 

 taken between September 25 and October 7, and they were the 

 only ones of the kind seen by us. They attracted attention at once, 

 both on account of their colors, large eyes, short snouts and 

 long pectoral fins, as compared with the common form. There 

 is still some doubt in m^- mind as to whether this represents a 

 distinct species or not. It may be the silver eel, A n g u i 1 1 a 

 a r g e n t e a , of Le Sueur, which is described as silvery gray 

 above, separated from the silvery white abdomen by a distinct 

 lateral line. But, to whatever species they may be referred, the 

 greatest interest attaches to them because they have proved, 

 on examination by Prof. John A. Ryder, to be males with the 

 generative glands so well developed as to leave no doubt con- 

 cerning the sex of the individuals. Prof. Ryder has published 

 a report on these specimens, with figures showing sections of 

 the syrskian organs, and announces the fact that the male eel 

 has now been positively indentified from at least two points 

 along our eastern coast, the other locality being Woods Hole 

 Mass. He felt little doubt that, if the eels had been taken a 

 few weeks later, ripe spermatozoa would have been found in 

 them, and he considers it probable that the eggs are cast some 

 time during the months of December or January. The speci- 

 mens from Woods Hole were taken in November 1881, and they 

 show slightly larger syrskian organs than in the Fire island 

 specimens. 



In captivity eels live many years. They delight to lie buried 

 in the mud or sand with only their heads out, ready for anything 

 edible to come within reach. Mussels and snails are picked out 

 of the shells by them. (After Eugene Smith^) 



The eel in captivity is particularly liable to attacks of fungus, 

 which do not alwavs vield to treatment with salt or brackish 



' Linn. Soc. N. Y. Proc. 1897. no. 9, p. 29. 



