Family ANGUILLIDAE 



THE EEL FAMILY 



The long, snakelike body of the eel is covered with minute, elongated 

 scales, which are imbedded in the skin. Some of the scales are arranged 

 at right angles to one another. The head is small and conical. The bones 

 are much modified from those of the typical fish. The preopercle and 

 premaxillary bones are present. The maxillaries are absent. The ventral 

 fins are absent; the pectoral fins are present; the dorsal fin is long and its 

 rays are short. Many species of eels belonging to related families are 

 found in the sea, but only one species of one genus is found in fresh water 

 in the United States. 



GENUS Angiiilla Shaw 



This genus contains but one American species, which is restricted to 

 waters east of the Rockies. Closely related species are found in Europe 

 and Asia. 



AMERICAN EEL (Common Eel, Fresh- Water Eel) 

 AnguiUa hostoniensis (LeSueur) 



The body of the eel needs little description. The tail is somewhat 

 compressed, and the lateral line is well developed. The head is rather 

 long and has small eyes located well forward. The jaws and vomer are 

 well set with teeth that are somewhat unequal in length. The lower jaw 

 projects beyond the upper. The outer end of the tongue is free. The 

 opercular openings are slitlike. The dorsal fin is continuous with the 

 caudal and anal fins. The upper parts of the body are dark brown in 

 color, and the lower parts are light. Female eels reach a length of 4 feet. 



The only animals ever confused with the eel are the lampreys, and 

 there is no reason for this confusion, for the lampreys lack jaws and 

 pectoral fins and have seven pairs of gill-clefts. 



The eel was at one time fairly common in the Mississippi and its 

 larger tributaries at least as far up as St. Anthony Falls. It has now 

 become almost extinct in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A few are taken 

 occasionally in the Mississippi and the St. Croix. The fact that all eels 

 must come from the sea and that the route has now been obstructed by 

 many dams is undoubtedly responsible for their scarcity in Upper Mis- 

 sissippi waters. 



Eels spawn in the sea and the adults are never seen after they leave 

 the coast. The young eels, after passing through larval stages, ascend 

 the rivers and live for several years in quiet, poollike stretches, where 

 they reach maturity. Only females journey far inland. Males, which 



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