2824 



THE BONY FISHES AND GANOIDS 



Electric Eel 



mental gills manages to breathe at all. The Bengal short-tailed eel (Symbranchus 

 bengalensis} has been selected to illustrate the external form of the members of this 

 very remarkable family. 



Together with four other genera from the fresh waters of tropical 

 America, the well-known electric eel {Gymnotus elcctricus) constitutes 

 the third and last family of the group under consideration, the leading characteris- 

 tics of which are as follows: The jaws are formed in the same manner as in the 

 true eels, and the head is scaleless and without barbels. The dorsal fin is either 

 totally wanting, or reduced to a fatty rudiment; the anal is extremely elongated; 

 pelvics are wanting; and the caudal is likewise generally absent, the tail terminating 

 in a point, which, when broken off, can be renewed in the same manner as in the 



ELECTRIC EEL. 

 /One-sixth natural size.) 



blind worms. The vent is situated in or near the throat; the gill openings are 

 rather narrow; an air bladder is present; the stomach has a blind appendage; and 

 the ovaries are provided with ducts. In the skeleton the pectoral girdle is attached 

 to the skull. By Professor Cope the typical genus is considered to be to a certain ex- 

 tent intermediate between the last family and the eel-like representatives of the cat- 

 fishes. 



As a genus, the electric eel is characterized by the absence of the caudal and 

 dorsal fins, by the anal extending to the extremity of the tail, the absence of scales, 

 the single series of conical teeth, and the minute eyes. Abundant in the rivers and 

 lagoons of certain parts of Brazil and the Guianas, the electric eel grows to a length 

 of fully six feet, and is capable of giving a more powerful shock than any of the 



