ANGUILLA VULGARIS. 373 



extending- from the dorsal surface round the tail to the ventral surface. And 

 this condition persists through life in Eels, so that neither the dorsal nor anal 

 fins are separate from the caudal. The upper jaw is formed by the pre-maxil- 

 lary bones in front and the maxillary bones at the sides. The jaws are equal 

 in length, and carry small teeth in l^iuds. The gills open Ijy narrow slits at 

 the base of the pectoral fins. 



The species of the genus were formerly made on the form of the snout, size 

 of the eyes, width of the bands of teeth, and other characters which are now 

 known to be very variable, and Dr. Giinther finds more valuable characters for 

 classification in the position of the dorsal fin, in advance of, or behind, the vent, 

 in the teeth of the mandible being in one or in two series, in their relative size, 

 in the relative length of the tail to the body, the nature of the lips, the cleft 

 of the mouth, &c. 



The larger number of species of the genus are found in the south-east of 

 Asia, the south-east of Africa, the Malay Archipelago, and Australia, the 

 West Indies, and the United States. Probably only one species occurs in 

 Europe. 



Eels differ from other migratory fishes in habit, for while they for the most 

 part come into rivers to spawn, and descend to the sea to grow. Eels grow in 

 the rivers and spawn in the sea. 



Anguilla vulgaris (Turton). 



The Eel (tig. 172) is a very variable fish, known in Germany as Aal ; as 

 Ai'Jior in Bohemia, and Wegorz in Poland ; to the Swedes it is Al ; it is Anguille 

 in France, and Anguilla in Italy; it is Aiigailas in Spain, and Engma or Eiroz 

 in Portugal. The Eels of the Nile were famous in the earliest ages, and are 

 said to have been worshipped, and Dr. Badham pointedly remarks that the 

 divine honours paid to the race by the sons of Ham could not preserve them 

 from the jaws of g-luttonous Greeks. A gentleman of ancient Greece is 

 reported to remark, "You Egyptians worship the Eel as a deity; your idol is 

 my idol too; I adore him in a dish. '^ The tastes of the luxurious Romans 

 for Eels have descended to the lazzaroni of modern Italy, who, in Naples at 

 least, feast on Eels, if possible, as the choicest Christmas fare. 



In England they are said to have given names to Ellesmere on the Mersey, 

 and Elmore on the Severn ; not to mention Ely, which has always been famous 

 for its great abundance of eels, though modern drainage of the fen-land has 

 greatly limited the areas over which they are now distributed. The size varies 

 with the locality, and in the Eastern counties they are taken from time to time 

 of from four to ten pounds' weight. Buckland met with no larger samples. 



