THE LARVA OF THE EEL. 283 
thus appears that the Leptocephaline forms grouped with Morris by 
Giinther are larval stages of Conger and Congromurena, and his view 
of their close connection is shown to have been remarkably sound. 
L. Kefersteini was found to be a somewhat rare form at Catania, 
but it was easily kept alive in aquaria, where it buried itself in the 
sand at the bottom and changed into Ophichthys serpens. Ophichthys 
is distinguished chiefly by having the extremity of the tail free, not 
surrounded by the median fin, and a pointed snout projecting beyond 
the lower jaw. J. stenops was found to be the larva of Myrus 
vulgaris, whose characters are—nostrils on or close to the margin of 
the upper lip, caudal rays very short, tail twice as long as the trunk, 
white lines across the occiput, and white pores on the face and lateral 
line. LL. longirostris was similarly connected with Murzna, which 
has narrow gill openings, and a body suddenly becoming very thick 
just behind the head. This character is markedly exhibited by 
the larva. L. tznia is probably the larva of Sphagebranchus, which 
is allied to Ophichthys (united with it by Gunther), but has the 
gill openings convergent on the ventral surface of the head. 
The same naturalists, pursuing their researches on the Lepto- 
cephali, have now satisfied themselves that the species L. brevirostris 
is the larva of the common eel. They have not, it is true, been 
able to follow the entire transformation on one and the same speci- 
men, but they have verified the most important changes in several 
individuals, and have compared all the organs in these stages and 
in the perfect form, and have traced a gr duo transition from the 
structure and characters of brevirostris to the fresh-water cel. 
L. brevirostris (Fig. 1) is a comparatively small Leptocephalid, 
afd SS it CLLR pe 
I) NUNN AN HANAN Ke ea 
Fia. 1.—Leptocephalus brevirostris, after fig. 15, pl. xviii, of Kaup’s Catalogue of 
Apodal Fish in the British Museum, 1896. 
scarcely reaching the maximum length of 8 cm. (84 inches), with 
a maximum vertical height of 1 cm. ‘The reduction in length 
during the metamorphosis may be somewhat more or somewhat ‘ese 
in-different individuals, but never exceeds 3 cm. ; that is to say, a 
fully transformed young eel, which is still very tr cngpenent may be 
as short as 5 cm. (2 inches), but not less, and it is very slender. 
L. brevirostris has not hitherto been “inca anywhere else except 
in the Straits of Messina. Is it possible, ask the Sicilian naturalists, 
that eels undergo a metamorphosis only in that place, and elsewhere 
have a different history ? The hypothesis is exceedingly improbable. 
They have made investigations, and convinced themselves that nowhere 
