106 



LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



Naturalists are divided as to the name it should bear. Conger vulgaris is that which 

 has been chiefly used, but several names had been earlier given. The earliest generic 

 name is the expression of a peculiar phase of development. As long ago as 1754, a 

 learned Dutch naturalist, Gronow or Gronovius, proposed a new generic name for a 

 small tish of an elongated form, but much compressed, and in life transparent. This 

 was found to be destitute of generative organs, and was regarded by Professor Carus 

 as probably the young of some ribbon-shaped fish. The relations of the fish were later 

 shown by Gill to be rather with the conger, and Leptocephalm morrisii was indicated 

 as the young of the common conger. This stage has been considered to be per- 



FiG. 1Z. — Conger vulgaris, conger eel. 



sistent under certain conditions, and its further development to be arrested, but 

 whether such is the case or not remains to be proved. There seems to be a tendency 

 in the congers to fail in the corai^lete ossification of the skeleton, for Dr. Dareste has 

 found instances of such failure to ossify, or rachitis, "in a large number of sjiecunens;" 

 he prepared the skeleton of " a conger of medium size," the bones of which were " flex- 

 ible," and had remained in " an entirely cartilaginous state." 



The conger attains about twice the size of the common eel, and " individuals of six 

 feet in length are not rai-e." It is distinguished from the common eel, in addition to 

 the characters already indicated, by the uniserial and paling-like teeth (which are close 

 set, and constitute an incisorial margin), as well as by color ; the dorsal region is dark 

 and the lower soiled white, the pores of the lateral line whitish, the dorsal and anal 



