253 
mences at a distance behind the anal, equal to about the ver- 
tical diameter of the tail. Its distance from the anus is in the 
adult about *%%4 of the length of the head ; in the young about 2/. 
This eel inhabits the estuaries of the Ganges. In atmosphe- 
ric air, or confined in fresh water, it soon expires. Indivi- 
duals upwards of 13 inches in tength are numerous at all sea- 
sons in Calcutta, but adult ones are rarely seen. {he stomach 
of one, a little more than 2 feet in length, contained a young 
Muraena tile (Buchanan Hamilton), 6 inches long. 
The heart is an elongated cylinder, about 1/5 of the length 
of the head. It ís situated remarkably far behind the gillope- 
nings, its distance from which exceeds one and a half length 
of the head. The pale reddish brown liver is a narrow flat- 
tened body of about the length of the head, its breadth 
being about , the length. The anterior extremity is bifid, 
clasping the apex of the heart. From the posterior extremi- 
ty protrudes the small oval gallbladder, which is in contact 
with the duodenum. The stomach is a cylindrieal sac, from 
1!/, to twice the length of the head. It extends to about a 
head’s length from the anus. From the pylorus the simple 
intestinal canal proceeds nearly straight to the anus; its length 
is about 3, times that of the head. The elongated flattened 
spleen is about half the length of the liver, from which it is remo- 
ved by a distance of its own length. The colour is nearly 
black. A little behind the spleen, between the ovaria, is 
situated the airvessel. It is spindle- shaped, of a shining 
silvery colour. Its length is a little less than half that of 
the head, while the greatest diameter scarcely exceeds Y5 of (he 
length. A little in front of the anterior half of the dorsal 
surface of the airvessel, appears the small vascular gland, cha- 
racteristic of the genus Anguilla. The ovaria are two linear 
bodies, attached to each side of the spine, with their free 
margins puckered, or forming numerous convolutions. The 
right ovarium extends from the tail, near the anus, to within 
