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Tilis (liffeiTiife ))etweon tlie pectorals is a verv eonstantly retnrning (listindivp 

 mark l)etwecn silver eels and yellow ones, and tlie Hsliernien in the Limfjord 

 know, l'or instancc, vcrv well liow lo distinguisli »hlucfinst from tlie yellow 

 eels; they know lliat in years ^\•]\ou tliere are many -lilnelins« tliere \vill hc 

 a good weel-fishery nf silver eels. 



The o figures S. !•, i\: 10. plate 11, are intented to ilhistratc tlio ditt'erenee 

 in the form of tlie hody of a silver eel witli large interorliital spaee, a sinallor 

 silver eel with narrow interorbital space, and a lean yellow eel. The thiek 

 ileshy, Hrm body, whieh is much higher than the head at the occipnt, cliarac- 

 terizes the two silver eels at first sight; the tliin and lank hody witli the 

 ]irii]>ortionally large head of Ihc yellow one ditt'ers considerahly from tliem; 

 the yellow eels, however, are fortnnately not always so lean as this, The 

 specimen re]iresented in the figure has a large interorl). space. 



With some practice it is easy when we take holil of an eel, eveii with 

 (lur eyes shut, to perceive whether we feel the hard, powerfnl body of the 

 silver eel or the soft, lean, often lank hody of the yellow one, in whieh as 

 ahove mentioned the iutestines take n]i a ])i'oportionally large room, while the 

 innseles are Imt of slight importance. 



Of otlier characters whieh mark silver eels in general, but whieh cannot 

 be seen from the tigures, must be mentioned tliat the colonrs on the back of 

 these eels as a rnle are very dark, nearly black; then follows on tlie side a 

 bronze-colonred streak, l>roader or narrower, wliicli stretches along the tisli in 

 nearly its whole length; it may be very little developed, but when it is tlicre, 

 it is very striking on acconnt of its briglit metallic lustre. The rest of the 

 siiles, as also the wbole of the belly, is, I dåre say, in all eels when they are 

 just caught, of a pure silver white with the hrightest metallic lustre. The dor- 

 sal and the caudal fins are dark, tlie greater part of the anal lin on (lie 

 otber band light-coloured, often with a red tlesh-coloured tone. The lins have 

 110 metallic lustre. 



Under special circumstances, however, othei' colom-s than the alnn'e men- 

 tioned mav occur, the eels. like most otlier lislies, being able to changc colour 

 (piickly. 



In the Lesser Belt for instancc 1 have seen many eels wliose back wasofa 

 pale i)luish-gray (nearly like dry clay), but this culdur I have seen onlyoii eels 

 whieh had lived in a wcel for some time, and it disap)iear((l in (be conrse of 

 a day when the eels wcre placed in a well. The light colour is produced by a 

 contractioii of the jiigmentcells in the skin, whieh on the back (|uite cover 

 the scales, but whieh are fouml also in numbcn's down the sides and on the 

 bclly. On eels whieh have long lieeii imin-isoiied i have ofleii seen (Ir'sc jiig- 



