NO. 1239. APODAL FISHES OF JATAX— JORDAN AND SNYDER. 847 



5. LEPTOCEPHALUS Scopoli. 

 CONGER EELS. 



(a) Jjtrrdl forms. 



Lej)t(Krj)Ii((iiis Sioi'oLi, Int. Hist. Nat., 1777, ]>. 45o (//yo/'c/.w;). 



O.rijurits RAKixE.scii'K, Caratteri, 1810, p. 19 {rcnniformia). 



7/('/yH/r//.s' R.\FiNE8QUE, Inilice d'lttiologia Siciliana, 1810, ji. 62 {pKiictdtfits) . 



Ileinilrlit}i>/t< ConTA, Fauna Napoli, Pesci, 1854 {diaphanu.'i). 



? Lcp((>c('plMlic]illi>/.'< Bleekkr, Ac-t. Snc. Soi. Ind. Nederl., I, Manado, p. 69 (fiyp- 



selosoma). 

 1 Diaphanichthijs 1'etehs, Moiiatsber. .\k. W'iss. I>erl., 1864, p. 399 [hrevicaudus) . 



(h) Adult Jnniix. 



Ech('hi>f RafinEvSque, C^aratteri, etc., 1810, j). (io (in ]i;itl, includes species of CoH' 

 ger, Ophimnia, and Miirnx; restricted l)y Bleeker to Myrnx). 



Conger Cuvier Regne Animal, 2d ed., 1829, p. 350 {conger). 



Ariosoma Swainson, Nat. Hist. Class'n Fishes, I, 1838, p. 220 (no type men- 

 tioned; diagnosis worthless) . 



OpMsoma Swainson, Nat. Hist. Class'n Fishes, H, 1839, j). 334 ((wahi). Sub- 

 stitute for Ariosoma; not Ophisomnx, Swainson, Nat. Hist., Class'n Fishes, II, 

 1839, p. 22" = Munenoide.i, Lacepede. 



Coiigrm Richardson, Voyage Erebus and Terror, p. 107, 1844 {con.ger). 



? Gnathopli'tx Kaup, Aale Hamburg. Mus., 1859, p. 7 [heterognathus) . 



Body formed a.s in Anguilla. the skin .scaleles.s. Head depressed 

 above, anteriorly pointed. Lateral line present. Mouth wide, its 

 cleft extending at least to beloAv middle of eye. Teeth in outer series 

 in each jaw equal and close-set, forminjj" a cutting edge; no canines; 

 band of yoinerine teeth short. Tongue anteriorly free. Vertical lins 

 well deyeloped, confluent around the tail; pectoral flns well developed; 

 dorsal beginning close behind pectorals. Gill openings rather large, 

 low. Eyes well dcAcloped. Posterior nostril near eye; anterior near 

 tip of snout, with a short tube. Lower jaw not projecting. Skeleton 

 dift'ering in immerous respects from that of Amju'dla. Vertebrae 

 al)out 56 + loo. In most warm seas. This gemis contains the well- 

 known and widely distributed Conger eel and three or four closely 

 related species. The earliest generic name used for members of the 

 group is Lepioccphohi^. based on a curious, elongate, transparent, band- 

 like creature with minute head and very small mouth, found in the 

 waters of Europe, and known as Leptocephahis inm'rissi. This has been 

 shown by Gill, Gimther, and Facciola to be the young and larval form 

 of LeptocepJidhis conger. A numl)er of the genera and species t)f the 

 supposed family of Leptocephalidje have been described, but there is 

 no doubt that all of them are larvte — some of eels, as (\)Ng('i\ Omger- 

 iiiurmna^ NeiUmtoina., and O.rij.^tonius^ others of Isospondylous Hshes, 

 as Alhtila, Elops^ Alep>ocep)hahui<., St<miias^ etc' It is thought by Dr. 



iGiinther, Cat., VIII, p. 136. 



