122 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 
Body scaleless. End of tail surrounded by a fin. Pectoral fins 
well developed. Plainly colored grayish or dusky above, silvery 
below and dorsal black-edged. 
Large marine eels found in most warm seas, usually at moder- 
ate depths. Many of the species undergo a metamorphosis, the 
young being loosely organized and transparent, band-shaped, and 
with very small head. The body grows smaller with increased 
age, owing to the compacting of the tissues. A single species on 
our coast belonging to the typical genus Leptocephalus. 
Genus LEPTOCEPHALUS Scopoli. 
The Conger Fels. 
Leptocephalus conger (Linneus). 
Conger. Conger Eel. Sea Eel. 


Sebati 
Ne nage 
SSE 
Conger. Leptocephalus conger (Linneus). 
Head 6°/,,; depth 18%; snout 4% in head; eye 7 > mouth 
3; interorbital space 7; pectoral 3; space between origins of 
dorsal and anal nearly equals head 1% times. Body long, slen- 
der, a little deeper or heavy forward and long tail tapering back. 
Head depressed above and anteriorly pointed. Snout rather de- 
pressed and produced beyond mandible. Eye elongate, rather 
large, about first third in head. Mouth wide, extending to below 
middle of eye. Teeth in outer series of each jaw equal and 
close-set, forming a cutting-edge. Band of vomerine teeth short. 
Tongue free in front. Lips rather broad and fleshy laterally. 

