224 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. los 



Proportional measurements: Body proportions have been over- 

 emphasized by various authors; however, within limits of variation, 

 they are still important characters in identification. Certain body 

 proportions — such as head length, snout length, body length, and 

 distance from tip of snout to origin of dorsal — increase directly with 

 growth; also, some eels lose a portion of their tail, which regenerates 

 a new caudal fin (but no new vertebrae) to form a new tail. Thus, 

 great errors result when ratios are determined from such measure- 

 ments. In the past, some new species have been described on the 

 basis of these erroneous measurements. 



Genus Conger Oken 



Les Congres Cuvier, 1817, p. 231, vernacular. 



Conger Oken, 1817, pp. 1781, 1782 (misprints for pp. 1181, 1182) (Cuvier's French 

 name Latinized); Bosc, 1817, p. 450; Cuvier, 1834 (English translation), 

 p. 221 (type species, Muraena conger Linnaeus by absolute tautonomy). 



Congrus Richardson, 1844-1848, p. 107 (a variant spelling of Conger). 



Isognatha Gill, 1861, p. 56 (type species, Anguilla oceanica Storer). 



Microconger Fowler, 1912, p. 9, fig. 1 (type species, Leptocephalus caudalis Fowler). 



Astroconger Jordan and Hubbs, 1925, p. 194 (type species. Conger myriasier 

 Brevoort). 



Forskalichlhys Whitley, 1935, p. 219 (type species. Conger cinereus Riippell). 



In Opinion 44 of the International Rules of Zoological Nomen- 

 clature, the Commission recognized Leptocephalus Gronovius 1763 as 

 the genus for conger eels; however, in Opinion 93 this action was 

 reversed under the plenary power of the Commission for suspension 

 of the rules and the Commission recognized the genus Conger Cuvier 

 1817 and designated the name Leptocephalus to the larval form. 

 Direction 87 of the International Commission on Zoological Nomen- 

 clature, February 1958, deleted from the official list of generic names 

 in zoology the entry relating to the name Conger Cuvier 1817, made 

 by the ruling given in Opinion 93, and in its place inserted Conger 

 Oken 1817 (gender: masculine), with the type species Muraena conger 

 Linnaeus 1758, by absolute tautonomy. 



Diagnosis: Scaleless, with confluent vertical fins, well developed 

 pectorals, vertical gill cleft wide, upper edge of gill opening near middle 

 of pectoral base; mouth large, maxillary extending at least to middle of 

 eye; one or two rows of teeth in jaws laterally, outer row of teeth 

 compressed, forming a cutting edge; a flat triangular preorbital bone 

 (pi. 1); fingorlike processes in nasal bone; anterior nostrils tubular, 

 posterior nostrils above middle of eye, otic bulla absent, ethmoidal 

 process cartilaginous. 



Description: Bod}^ formed as in Anguilla, elongate, posteriorly 

 compressed, head depressed; mouth large, maxillary extending at 

 least to below a perpendicular line from middle of eye; origin of dorsal 

 fin above pectoral base to one pectoral length behind posterior tip of 



