258 MALACOP. APODES. EEL FAMILY. 



(which is preserved in the Edinburgh University" 

 i^Iuseum) it is comparatively short and bkint. May 

 not difference of sex have something to do with 

 this ? The kind of water in which they dwell, soil, 

 food, and general nature of the locality, has perhaps 

 a greater influence on the colour of Eels than on any 

 other fish, and we have already seen how great that 

 influence is in many cases, — in that of the Common 

 Trout, for example. It is not improbable, there- 

 fore, that the views of ichthyologists wiU yet un- 

 dergo some change regarding the specific distinctions 

 of the members of this genus ; meanwhile, we pro- 

 ceed to notice the species as at present admitted 

 by Messrs. Jenyns and Yarrell. 



(Sp. 192.) A. acutirostris. Sharp-nosed Eel. 

 This may be regarded as the Common Eel, although 

 the broad-nosed Eel is in many places equally plen- 

 tiful. It is found in all the fresh waters of this 

 country ; abounds throughout Europe, except in the 

 arctic regions and some of the rivers, such as the 

 Wolga and certain tributaries of the Danube, which 

 have their source in very cold regions ; occurs also in 

 Asia, the great islands of the Pacific Ocean, and in 

 North America. It is, strictly speaking, a fresh- 

 water fish ; can subsist permanently in fresh water, 

 and, there can be little doubt, breeds there. When 

 it has the means, however, of following its natural 

 instinct, it migrates towards the sea in the autumn, 

 and resides in the brackish water at the mouths oi 

 rivers. As eels are extremely sensitive to cold, it is 

 supposed that this situation is pi'eJ'erred during the 



