THE FISHES OF RHODE ISLAND.* 



VII. THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE COMMON EEL. 



BY HENRY C. TRACY, A. M., 



BROWN UNIVERSITY. 



Biological Assistant, Wickiord Station. 



Of all the aquatic animals which have come to the particular 

 attention of mankind in times past and present, few have been the 

 subject of greater interest and speculation than the common eel. 

 Its first and most important claim to man's attention is based on its 

 food value. Few of the edible fishes surpass the eel in their value 

 to man, since it is of nearly universal distribution in both fresh and 

 salt water, and the palatability of its delicately textured and highly 

 flavored flesh is everywhere appreciated. 



But in addition to its interest from the economic point of view, 

 considered merely as an article of food, the eel has been the subject 

 of a unique interest since the time when man first began to speculate 

 regarding the natural history of animals. The life history of the eel 

 has been the subject of investigation among scientists from the time of 

 Aristotle to the present day; while to the popular mind the eel has 

 always been, and still is, a creature of mystery, and many and divers 

 have been the myths and superstitions to explain its origin and 

 habits. To many who are uninstructed in the principles of zoology, 

 the external form of the eel has endowed it with an almost uncanny 



* Previous papers in this series are as follows: 



I. A List of the Fishes of Rhode Island, 36th Report, 1905, page 3S. 

 II. The Common Fishes of the Herring Family, 36th Report, 1905, page 100. 

 III. The Fishes of the Mackerel Family, 37th Report, 1906, page 33. 



IV. A List of Rare Fishes Taken in Rhode Island in the Year 1906, 37th Report, 1906, 

 page 65. 



V. The Flat-fishes, 38th Report. 1907, page 47. 

 VI. A Description of two young Specimens of Squeteague (Cynoscion Regalis) with Notes 

 on the Rate of their Growth, 38th Report, 1907, page 85. 



