53. ANGUILLID^ SIMENCHELYS. 
3G3 
as long as the head. Teeth in a single series on the sides of the jaw, in 
a broad patch at the tip. Cleft of mouth extending to beyond the mid- 
dle of the rather large eye. Jaws equal or the lower included. Dis- 
tance from snout to vent three times the length of the head. Head 7^. 
L. 50 inches. Europe, to Soutti America and East Indies, frequently 
taken on our Atlantic coast. We are unable to detect any difference 
between American and European examples. It sometimes reaches a 
length of 8 feet. 
(Anguilla conger L. Syst. Nat. : Murama nigra Risso, Ichtli. Nice, 1810, 93 : Conger vul- 
garis Cuvier, Regne Anim. 1817 : Anguilla oceanica Mitcbill, Jouru. Acad. Nat. Sci. i, 407 : 
Conger occidentalis Dekay, N. Y. Fauua, Fiskes, 314, 1842; Conger vulgaris Guntlicr, viii, 
38: Conger oceanicus GUI, Rept. Com. Fisheries lor 1871-’72, 811.) 
175.— SiyiEi^CHELYS Gill. 
Pug-nosed Eels. 
(Gill MS. ; Goode & Beau, Bull. Essex Inst, xi, 1879, 27 : Simcnchclgs parasiticus GUI.) 
Body eel-shaped, covered with linear imbedded scales, disclosed at 
right angles as in Anguilla. Lateral line present, faint. Head very 
short, rounded, very blunt anteriorly, shghtly compressed. Mouth 
small, entirely anterior. Premaxillaries and maxillaries of each side 
side coalesced and separated from those of the other side by the eth- 
moid. Jaws equal, their edges hard, provided with a single series of 
small, rounded, close-set, incisor-like teeth. No vomerine teeth. Tongue 
broad, somewhat free anteriorly. Mandible very deep and strong. 
Operculum sabre-shaped. Gill-openings very small, inferior, longi- 
tudinal, well separated, situated in front of the pectorals and below 
them. Both nostrils large, the anterior with a slight rim, but no tube. 
Lips full. Pectorals short ; vertical tins confluent around the tail, the 
dorsal beginning not far behind irectorals ; vent in fr ont of anal, near 
middle of body. One species known, probably the type of a distinct 
family, {aipoq^ pug-nosed; 'iyytXuz^ eel.) 
5§9. S. |)a.s'a.satacus Gill. 
Dark brown, nearly xrlain. Eye rather large, anterior, but behind the 
angle of the mouth, scarcely shorter than the snout. Head i length of 
trrrnk ; about J distance from snorrt to origin of dorsal ; width of gill 
slit equaling diameter of orbit; interorbital space nearly half length of 
head. Vent not much in advance of middle of body. Dorsal begin- 
uirrg just behind tips of pectorals; tins rather low. Off-shore banks, 
soirth of Newfoundland ; abundant. Individuals have been found bur- 
rowing in the flesh of the halibut. 
(Gill, MS. in Goode & Bean, Bull. Essex Inst, xi, 27, 1878.) 
