MALACOPTERYG1ANS I ANGUILLID^. 351 



which is from ten to twenty inches long, and inhabits 

 the North Atlantic. Pennant states that, upon putting 

 one into a pail of water, it adhered so firmly, that he lifted 

 the whole pailful, several gallons, by taking hold of the 

 fish by the tail. 



ECHENEID.E, OR REMORA FAMILY. This Family em- 

 braces fishes which have a flattened disk upon the head, 

 composed of a number of transverse cartilaginous lam- 

 inae directed obliquely backwards, serrated or spiny on 

 the hind edge, and movable, so that by creating a vacuum 

 between them, or by hooking on to various bodies by 

 means of the serrated edges, they are enabled to attach 

 themselves very firmly. The Genus Echeneis is the prin- 



Fig. 228. Fig. 229. 



White-tailed Remora, E. albicauda, Mitch. 



cipal one. The species are few, and chiefly tropical ; but 

 some are taken on the coast as far north as Labrador. 

 They are from twelve to thirty inches long, and often found 

 attached to other marine animals. 



SUB-SECTION IV. 



APODAL MALACOPTERYGIANS. 



THIS Order is represented by one great family, con- 

 taining about one hundred known species. 



ANGUILLID^E, OR EEL FAMILY. This Family has the 

 body much elongated, cylindrical, and covered with a 

 thick, soft skin. The scales, when present, as in the 

 common Eel, are scattered, and deeply imbedded in the 

 skin* 



The Genus Anguilla Eels proper has the dorsal 



* Each genus under this Family as here given is probably the type of a 

 distinct family. 



