THE EEL 155 



upwards, the snout is flat, and the pectoral fins are 

 pale and rounded behind. The males cannot readily 

 be distinguished from the females without dissection, 

 and the sexual organs are little developed. Many 

 of the larger Yellow Eels become very voracious and, 

 principally in consequence of the excessive develop- 

 ment of the jaw-muscles, acquire a very characteristic 

 appearance ; from this they have received a number 

 of names such as " Frog-mouthed Eel," " Bulldog- 

 headed Eel," etc., whilst other names such as " Glut- 

 eel," " Gorb-eel," and " Hunter Eel " refer to their 

 predaceous and gluttonous habits. 



According to Petersen, such " Frog-mouthed 

 Eels" are abundant in both fresh and salt water, 

 and are nearly always females ; they are often 

 captured on hooks baited with small fish. Thompson 

 mentions this form under the name " Broad-nosed 

 Eel " as occurring in Lough Neagh, where it feeds 

 chiefly on the Pollan and destroys them in the nets, 

 and is taken in the summer with night-lines baited 

 with large worms or small Perch ; the fishermen 

 called it Collach (wicked), and considered it coarse 

 to eat compared with other Eels ; some had the 

 head nearly semicircular in outline, and were called 

 Bulldog-headed Eels. 



So different is this Frog-mouthed Eel from the 

 normal Yellow Eel, which is sometimes called a 

 " Snig," that even Dr. Giinther considered it to be 

 a distinct species {Anguilla latirostris) ; his example 

 from the Itchen is 2 feet long, and is noticeable 

 for the large head, longer than the distance between 

 the origins of the dorsal and anal fins, the large 

 mouth, the cleft of which extends to the vertical 

 from the posterior edge of the eye, the thick lips, 



