Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 139 



fairly young leptocephali of 70 mm TL to young adults 52 mm long were exceedingly 

 numerous among some of the Pacific islands in Panama Bay in March 1937 (especially 

 in the Pearl Islands). Somewhat similar stages, though less numerous, were taken 

 in February and March on the Atlantic coast of Panama. Other leptocephali at hand 

 were taken as follows: January 23 on the Pacific coast of Colombia, February 13 in 

 Puerto Rico, March 13 in the Virgin Islands, April 8 in Cuba, April 23 and 28 in 

 Haiti, May 1 9 in Cuba, June 30 at Beaufort, N. C, July 2 i in Bermuda, and August 7 

 and November 25 at Tortugas, Florida. Beebe and Tee- Van (5: 37) have reported that 

 on 34 evenings of collecting (between February 26 and April 30) with an electric light 

 lowered from the gangway of a schooner in Port-au-Prince Bay, Haiti, larvae of Alhiila 

 were absent only two nights and were very abundant 17 nights. With the capture of 

 the leptocephali spread over most of the year and at widely spaced localities, there is 

 little indication of where and when spawning takes place. 



Although an advanced leptocephalus transformed rapidly in an aquarium under 

 observation (59: 269; 40: 109), it cannot be concluded that development before 

 capture was equally fast, and that the rapid transformation under artificial conditions 

 was normal, especially in the light of what is known about the slow development of the 

 leptocephali of freshwater eels. At least the possibility exists that the rather advanced 

 leptocephali that have been described may have been several months old and were 

 caught far from the place where they had hatched. 



Habits. The adult is usually caught in comparatively shallow water, but to what 

 extent it enters deep water offshore apparently has not been determined. The larva 

 has been taken at night at the surface under an electric light, by which it seems to 

 be attracted, and during the day in the shallow water of bays and estuaries with seines, 

 at least once in a creek with nearly fresh water (in Panama), and on one occasion in 

 the surf on the outer shores of Bogue Banks, North Carolina. During March 1937, 

 the larva and young adult were found in great abundance among islands in Panama 

 Bay. In one very shallow tide pool with a muddy bottom, off San Jose Island in the 

 Pearl Islands group, the water was literally "soupy" with fish and crustaceans. At the 

 time there was an exceptionally low tide, and the concentration was so great and the 

 water so shallow and warm that many small shrimp and fish perished, but the greater 

 part of the aggregation seemed to endure the situation. It was possible to select from 

 this pool a growth series ranging from leptocephali 70 mm long, the youngest present, 

 to young adults 52 mm long. 



Food. This fish, known as the Grubber in Bermuda (^0 : 1 04) grubs up some of 

 its food from the bottom with its nose and sometimes turns somersaults in the proc- 

 ess. In the West Indies and Florida it may be seen by day (5J: 187), along shallow 

 sandbanks and among underwater grasses, feeding during incoming tides on worms, 

 mollusks, and crabs; but in Bermuda it apparently comes into the shallows at night 

 to feed. Bivalves and small squid have been reported as its food (5: 37). In the Pearl 

 Islands, young adults were gorged with small shrimp, but a few fish (small atherinids) 

 had been eaten also. 



