30 



REPEODUOTION AND DEVELOPMENT OP THE CONGER. 



Table II. — Shoiving the Numerical Relation of the Sexes in Conger 

 lender 2 feet 6 inches in length, examined hy me at Plymouth. 



Date. 

 November 17th, 1887 

 December 20th, 1887 

 June 6th, 1888 

 Juue 14th, 1888 

 July 4th, 1888 

 July 21st, 1888 

 December 7th, 1888 

 December 20th, 1888 

 January 2ncl, 1889 

 January 3rd, 1889 



No. of specimens. 

 11 

 1 

 2 

 2 

 2 

 3 

 2 

 2 

 6 

 3 



34 



Males. 

 3 

 

 

 1 

 

 

 1 

 2 

 2 

 2 



11 



Females. 

 8 

 1 

 2 

 1 

 2 

 3 

 1 

 

 4. 

 1 



23 



III. Discussion of Results of my Observations. 



Some of tlie conclusions whicb. I have drawn from my observations 

 are certain and others are only probable. Perhaps the most inte- 

 resting of those which are certain, is that the males are distinguish- 

 able from females of the same size by slight but constant secondary 

 sexual characters. The most important of these is the shape of the 

 snout previously described, but I have found the pigmentation of 

 the abdomen to be also a constant difference. The prominence of 

 the eyes I have only noticed in males which were actually ripe. 

 Perhaps careful comparative measurement would have shown that 

 the eye is always larger in the male than in the female, but pressure 

 of other work has prevented me making such measurements. 



The lai'gest male I have seen was only 2 feet 2 inches long, 

 3f inches less than that described by Dr. Otto Hermes. I conclude, 

 therefore, that the latter specimen was unusually large, and that 

 2 feet 6 inches is the extreme limit of length of male specimens. 

 The smallest ripe male I have seen was the first one I obtained, 

 which was only 18 inches in length. 



As shown in the table No. 2, according to my experience, even 

 among specimens under 2 feet 6 inches long, the proportion of 

 males is not more than 33 per cent. Brock found males and females 

 about equal in number among 45 specimens. I have only recorded 

 34 specimens in my note-book, although in collecting living males I 

 examined a larger number. I conclude that the males are less 

 numerous than the females, for it must be remembered that all 

 specimens over 2 feet 6 inches in length are females, and, therefore. 



