266 MALACOP. APODES. EEL FAMILY. 



form of the fish, give it a strong resemblance to 

 some kinds of serpents. 



Gen. XCIII. Leptocephalus. — The remaining 

 genera of the family Murenidae may be regarded as 

 forming a section by themselves, differing in many 

 important points from those already noticed. The 

 species are of comparatively small size ; the body, 

 instead of being cylindrical or nearly so, is much 

 compressed, becoming in several instances riband- 

 shaped, and the whole texture is extremely delicate. 

 This is the case in particular with the genus above 

 named (so called on account of the smallness of the 

 head), of which only one species has yet been dis- 

 covered in Britain. It is the 



(Sp. 1970 ^' Morrisii. Anglesey Morris. First 

 made known by Pennant, who obtained a specimen 

 from Holyhead, where it was discovered l>y the in- 

 dividual after whom it is named. Other specimens 

 have since been found in various parts of the coast 

 of England, Wales, and Ireland, so that this curious 

 fish is now comparatively well known, although 

 some were formerly disposed to exclude it from our 

 Fauna, under the impression that Pennant had been 

 labouring under some mistake regarding it. It is a 

 fish of extreme delicacy, being semipellucid ; and 

 when placed on a slip of glass, and examined in a 

 good light, the intestine, and some other parts of its 

 internal structure, can be distinctly perceived. It is 

 of a fine silvery hue ; the eyes large and prominent ; 

 and its motions are described by Mr. Deere, who 

 had a specimen for a short time alive, as very grace- 



