1040 



SCANDINAVIAN 1-I.sIIES. 



f'inilicr t'orwiird, tlic ^M-adual tiackw ard slmrteniiig of 

 tlic I'avs Infill,;:' tlms more cNtciidcMl, wlieiiee tlie more 

 pointed form of the tail. 'I'lir length of the head is 

 always perceptibly less than ilic distance from the be- 

 ginning of the dorsal fm to that of the anal, usually 

 onl}- 60 — 70 % thereof; bul in Mongers with an exces- 

 sively hjiig head this pcrccnlage may rise to 85. 



'i'he jjectoral tins are oval or obliqneh' pointed 

 above, the n])]ier ra\s being longest, and extending to 

 about a line with the beginning of the dorsal tin, soine- 

 wliat l)evond or somewhat short of the same. Their 

 length is about (I "o — in Kkovick's youngest specimen 

 only 4 % — of that of the body, or about 10— l.") % 

 of the distance between the anal tin and the tip of 

 tlie sn(jut. 



In the scaleless skin the depressed, straiglit latei'al 

 line with its light (wliite or yellowish ^vhite) pores is 

 distinct throughout the length of the body. 



The coloration of the dorsal side and the tip of 

 the tail is gray, with a moi-e oi' less pronounced tinge 

 of chocolate-brown, lighter or darker, sometimes even 

 black, the \entral side is white, \vith a dash of violet 

 behind. The base of the dorsal fin is of the same 

 colour as the back, but towards the top the fin becomes 

 ash-gray or violet, to a greater and greater extent be- 

 hind, and the extreme margin is black. This black 

 tint also appears on the posterior part of the margin 

 of tlie anal fin, the rest of this fin lieing grayish blue 

 or violet, growing paler in front. The pectoral fins 

 are black at the upper margin, ash-gray or violet with 

 a white or yellowish white rim on the outside, dark, 

 sometimes quite black, on the inner (posterior) surface. 

 The toj) of the head in colour resembles the Ijack ; the 

 lips and its under surface are of the same hue as the 

 belly, the former, however, with a more or less distinct 

 tinge of flesh colour; the cheeks have a more or less 

 powerful metallic lustre. The iris is sometimes silvery, 

 punrtated \\\\\\ black, sometimes of a. metallic lustre. 

 In old ('ongers the inside of the mouth and the bran- 

 chial cavities are pi'incipally black; in the young the 

 motitli and tongue at least are white. 



The ('onger, as the Swedish name conveys, is 

 distinetlv a salt-water fish, and has a. wide geographical 

 range, extending almost round the globe. It is known 

 fr(»m the east coasts both of North and South America, 

 IVoin St. Helena and the west coast of Europe, the 

 Mediterranean, India, Japan, New South Wales, and 

 Tasmania. (Jn the west coast of America, it has never 



been found. Its true home hardlv extends into Scan- 

 dina\ ian waters, though it can by no means be regarded 

 as rare on the west coast of Sweden, and sometimes 

 strays even into the Baltic. Stohm received specimens 

 from the outer ])arts of Trondhjem Fjord; but farther 

 north it has never been taken. On the shelving west 

 coast of Jutland it seems to be rarei' than in Norway; 

 but several six'cimens are known from the Skager Rack, 

 the Cattegat, and the Sound. I^smakk I'eceived a Lepfo- 

 cephidns caught, it was stated, in Christiania Fjord, 

 and perhaps a proof that the Conger may spawn not 

 far from Scandinavia, though these larval forms rove 

 c<insideral)le distances in the ocean. In 1877 Malm 

 estimated that at most l)etween 20 and rio specimens 

 had been securecl during the preceding 30 j'ears on 

 the Swedish coast. NiLssox received a specimen nearly 

 15 dm. long from Halmstad, and another (in the win- 

 ter of 1853), 24 dm. long, from Landskrona. The 

 latter, according to Lilljeborg, had been left by the 

 waves on a sandbank; and a female It! dm. long was 

 found under similar circumstances oft' Kaa (near Hel- 

 singborg) at the l)eginning of March, 1883, and for- 

 ^\■arded by Dr. Trybom to the Royal Museum. Mobius 

 and Heincke mention two specimens from Eckernforde 

 Bay, the one 2 m. long and 34' , kilo, in weight, the 

 other weighing 45 kilo., iine from Travemunde Bay, 

 measuring 17 dm. and weighing 14^ j kilo., and one 

 from Kiel Harliour, 16 dm. in length and over 15 kilo. 

 in weight. According to Mela the Conger has even 

 penetrated into the (tuII of Finland, to the Njdand 

 coast. It is plentiful on the English and French coasts 

 and, above all, in the Mediterranean. In the Black 

 Sea it is rare off the Crimea, but is often seen in 

 Constantino[)le. 



The true haunts of the Conger lie in 20 — 50 fa- 

 thoms of water, l)ut it ascends between the tide-marks, 

 and has been found at low water on dry land. It 

 shares the pi'eference of the common Eel for a noc- 

 turnal life, and in the daytime shows the same procli- 

 vit\- for hiding among weeds and stones, in crevices 

 and in the sand. Off the mouths of rivers it lies in 

 wait for the migratory fishes on their upward and 

 downward journeys. It has great powers of endurance 

 and a robust appetite. Its dentition shows that it is 

 one of the most formidable pi-edatory fishes. With the 

 jiointed, though smaller, front teeth it i^'izes its prey, 

 and with the sharp edges formed by the close-set, 

 larger jaw-teeth it mangles the victim. Its strength 



