COMMON K!:i., 



10l'7 



anal iin, wliic-h in ['nmt shows the coh)!!!- of the; Ijclly. 

 The yellow tint of the lu'lly is (/hanictcristic of the 

 youriu- anil of the Eels that lead a somewhat stationary 

 life anions' the seaAveed on the coast, or in the innd 

 and anion.ii' the arass of the lakes. The white helly 

 belongs to tiie migration unifoi'iii, the spawninj^-dress 

 of the Kels". The l)aek is darkest, sometimes even 

 black, in the miiirating males. Among colour-varieties 

 there have been observed light s]>eeimens, almost yel- 

 lowish green on the back, and irregularly spotted fish, 

 with light, clouded spots on the dorsal side <ir with 

 "dorsal streaks of a golden yellow" (Bknkckk). Albi- 

 nos have also bet'U found''. 



In tlie basin of the Atlantic the Eel is dispersed 

 between the latitudes of the West Indies and of Nor- 

 wegian Einmark, and from the United States eastwards 

 over North Africa and throughout Europe, including 

 the regions drained l)v the Baltic and the Mediterra- 

 nean, but, strange to say", originally with the exception 

 of the Black and Caspian Seas and their feeders. Fa- 

 BKicii;.s mentions it among the fishes of Southern Green- 

 land, and even Olaj'sen'' knew it from Iceland, where 

 according to Fabek, however, its length seldom exceeds 

 1*2 It.: but from the Arctic seas and rivei's it is else 

 unknown. Within the basin of the Pacific it is found 

 in .Ia|ian, China, Formosa, Borneo, and, according to 

 Gi'NTHi;!!, New Zealand. The geographical range of the 

 Eel is thus one of the most extensive; Imt the ga|)S 

 — its absence, for instance, from the west coast of 

 North America — are difficult to ex|)lain. 



In Scandinavia the Eel liecomes rarer and rarer 

 inland and towards the north. Solitarv specimens ha\e 

 indeed bet^n found in the Fjords of Varanger ;ind Tana; 

 hut into the innermost parts of Finland the Eel does 

 not penetrate, and in Sweden, as well as in Norway, 

 it seldoui, if ever, ascends into the mountain-regions. 

 On the Norwegian coast it is common, accoi'ding to 

 CoLLETT, up to Lofoden, rarer on the coast of I'inmark 



further north, and in Exaaxand, a lake in BjelJerud 

 (Province of C|n-istiansand), it has been met with at a 

 height of 1,()0() feet (oiMI m.) above the sea-level'. The 

 Eel occurs in every pro\iuce of Sweden, but to the fai- 

 north onl\' on liie seaboard. Wideohex described in 

 1S(;() the Ixd-fishery of the lower I.ulea Elf and the 

 islands at its mouih. From the liasin of the Angerman 

 Elf Tiniioxr' was told 1h:it F.eis were found in Eake 

 Malgomaj, situated ;^')(i m. alxiNc the level of the sea; 

 and according to ( )i.sso.\ the Eel ascends to the neigh- 

 bourhood ol' (iiiddrde, on (^)\arnberg \A^ater, near the 

 Norwegian iVontiei-. in the basin of tlie Ejunga, accord- 

 ing to Olsson, it has been found on rare occasions in 

 Herjeadalens Storsjo, 363 m. aliove the sea-level. In 

 Southern Sweden, as in Uenniark, tlie I'^el is c(nnmon 

 in rivers, lakes, .-ind meres, whercNcr it can find a con- 

 genial haunt. Throughout the basin of Lake Wener, 

 howevei", it is said to have l)een wanting' previous to 

 the construction of the TrollhiVtte Canal, when the Eel- 

 fry made their wav through the locks up the fall. 



The Eel is tenacious of life and supple of body, 

 adapting itself to the most confined abode and the most 

 meagre circumstances; Init in order to attain any con- 

 siderable size it re(|uires abundant food and ample space. 

 It reminds us strongly of the snakes in its nocturnal 

 habits and its fondness for hiding in holes or burrowing 

 in the soft bottom. Like the viper it gathers in large 

 bunches — ''hu/ffer .su/ i. rirt"'' says the Swedish fisher- 

 man. To tliese serpent-like traits is allied its power of 

 sustaining life for a long time out of the water: just as 

 the connnon snake is partly an aquatic animal, the Eel 

 can traverse considerable distances by land. Its serpen- 

 tine, wriggling movements enable it to make rajiid pi'o- 

 gress though the water, so as speedily to find a hiding- 

 place; and its great jiower of muscle endows it with 

 great endurance dui'ing its rovings in the sea; but it 

 seems to rank among the sluggish fishes, and by nature 

 belongs to the ground-swimmers. "Slippery as an Eel," 



° Cf. F. H. T. Leth: lakttagelser over Aaleiie. Diinsk iMskcriticlcmle 1882, p. .393. 



'' Feddersen, Dansk Fiskeritidende, 1891, p. .395. 



' The Ell's original absence from the basin of the Danube — where i( lias been planted in recent times, and seems to thrive, having 

 volmitarily spread to the Black Sea and the lower cour.ses of the Russian rivers — may perhaps be explained by a comparison with the equally 

 singular presence in the Danube of the Hueh (see Smitt, Riksiii. .Salmonider, p. 148). The Eel is wanting in Siberia, being compelled to 

 enter salt water in order to breed, and incapable of enduring the cold of the Arctic Ocean, into which the Siberian rivers fall; and the same 

 ancient configuration of tlie ocean as enabled (he Siberian Ilndi to spread to the h:t<iv ..f i1m- l>Hini).e may have cut off the advance of the 

 Eel hi this direction. 



'' lieise igiennem I'tantl (1772), vol. I, p. 594. 



' In the Swiss Alps, according to Fatio (Fiu Vert. Suisse, vol. V. |i. 458), the Eel ascinds to an elevation about twice as great. 



' Xord. Aarsskr. Fisk., liste Aarg. (1884), p. 306. 



:' See Lloyd, Scand. Ado., vol. I, p. 143, and Nii.ss., tSlcand. Fun, Fifl.-.. p. 675. note. 



* Vret is probably connected with vrida, to writhe, twi.st. Tr. 



