58 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



of its singular jaws. The upper jaw is apparently composed of the 

 maxillary or preinaxillary — bones which are invariably wanting- in the 

 tribe of true Eels. The bones of both jaws are slender and curved ; 

 those of the under jaiv meet at an acute angle in front, and they are 

 armed tcith a single row of small, sharp, delicate teeth, similar to those 

 of the upper jaw, but rather more numerous. There are no teeth on 

 the palatine bones or elsewhere in the mouth. 



"The gape is of an enormous extent; and the animal had th'O power 

 of throwing down the lower jaw until it was almost in a line with the 

 upper, the two being subequal and 2| inches in length. There is no 

 tongue in the mouth, nor are there any hranchiostegal rays. A conical 

 snout projects nearly four-tenths of an inch beyond the upper lip; and 

 the small oval eye, which is covered with skin, is })laced on the head 

 not far from the base of the snout. In front of each eye is a single 

 small nostril which does not issue in a tube. 



"The gill-openings are small slits, seven-tenths of an inch in length, 

 on the underside of the body, placed only one- sixth of an inch apart, and 

 at a distance of about 3^ inches from the tip of the snout. What is 

 very remarkable about these apertures is that, within the lips of each, 

 the opposite sides are connected by three narrow cutaneous bands — two 

 near the anterior end of the aperture, and one near the posterior end. 



" The minute pectoral fins are placed immediately behind the gill- 

 oi)enings, but a little above them. Each is about one-fifth of an inch 

 in length and has about thirty-two delicate rays. In reference to the 

 pectoral fins of the fish described by Dr. Harwood, he mentions that 

 they were principally composed of an adipose disk terminated and 

 nearly surrounded by the rayed portion of the fin. In my fish I do not 

 see anything of this kind ; but that may be owing to the specimen being 

 young. 



"A low dorsal fin, having extremely slender rays, commences in front 

 of the vent, and at a distance of about 7^ inches from the tip of the 

 snout. There is no trace of ventrals. The vent is about Sh inches from 

 the snout; and behind it begins a low anal, which, though it may be 

 traced for a considerable distance, stoj^s, like the dorsal, short of the 

 end of the tail. 



"The hinder part of the body tapers off gradually; and the finless 

 tail is characterized by extreme tenuity, being reduced to the thinness 

 of a thread. Two bluish-white, i)arallel, closely approximated lines be- 

 gin at the distance of rather more than an inch from the tip of the 

 snout, and are traceable for a considerable space along the back, one at 

 each side of the dorsal fin. Dr. Mitchill speaks not only of a whitish 

 line extending on each side of the dorsal fin of his fish, but of a similar 

 stripe at each side of the anal fin" (pp. 278, 279). 



As to the relationship of these three fishes (Mitchill's, Harwood's, 

 and Johnson's) Mr. Johnson calls attention to the description by 

 ^litchill of the filiform processes, and distinctly says that in Jjis fish 



