148 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



I'ART I. 



THE BLACK EEL. 



THE SILVER EEL. 



upper jaw 3.7, at the base of the pectorals 

 5, at the coinrnencerncnt of the dorsal 6.5, 

 of the anal .^).7, distance Ijctwcen the eyes 

 .6, heio-ht of the pectorals 1.4, base .6. 

 Body cylindrical ; color above dark olive 

 brown, extending down low upon the 

 sides ; belly white, or yellowish white, 

 eometimes with a ruddy tinge ; lateral 

 line irregular, indistinct, and above the 

 middle of tlie body, before the vent, be- 

 hind it, medial and straight to the middle 

 of the tail; jaws narrow and rounded at 

 the end ; lower jaw longest, tipped with 

 brown ; lips fleshy ; a broad band of small, 

 short teeth in each jaw and upon the vo- 

 mer : eye over the angle of the mouth, 

 pupil black, iris golden ; nostrils near the 

 eyes ; a short fleshy cirrus on each side 

 of the snout ; small mucous pores on va- 

 rious parts of the head ; gap of the mouth 

 small ; gill opening small and under the 

 anterior origin of the pectoral fin, which 

 is pointed ; dorsal, caudal and anal fin 

 united. Pectoral rays 12. Vent 3 inches 

 nearer the snout than to the extremity of 

 the tail. 



History. — This is the common Eel in 

 Vermont, on the west side of the Green 

 Mountains, and also in Canada, where it 

 is taken in very large quantities. When 

 skinned and skilfully cooked it is an 

 agreeable and nourishing article of food, 

 and is by many considered one of our best 

 fishes; some, however, find it diftlcult to 

 surmount the prejudice occasioned by its 

 slender snake-like appearance. The or- 

 dinary weight of those taken in our 

 streams is from 1 to 3 pounds. By com- 

 paring the above description with the two 

 following, it will be seen that this Eel dif- 

 fers very materially from those found in 

 other parts of New England, particularly 

 in the relative jjosition of the pectoral 

 fins. By comparing our Eel with the de- 

 scription and figure of the Sharp-nosed 

 Eel, Aiifiuil/tr.acv'irosfris, in Varrell's Brit- 

 ish Fishes, vol. II, p. 284, I find the agree- 

 ment in the position of the fins, &c., so 

 perfect, that I have little doubt that they 

 belong to the same species, and that tlie 

 Common Eel of the St. Lawrence and its 

 tributaries is identical with the Common 

 Eel of Great Britain. Between our fish 

 and Yarrell's figure there a/e some slight 

 differences. In the figure the head is too 

 broad, and the middle raj's of the pectoral 

 fins are too short. In our fish the middle 

 rays are longest, making the fin appear 



pointed. 



THE BLACK EEL. 



Miirainn bostoniensls. — Le Sueur. 



journal Acad. Nat. Science, Phil., 1-^7. Slorer's 

 Report, page 157. 



Description. — Specimen 23 inches in 



length : from the tip of the snout to the 

 base of the pectorals 8 inches ; circumfer- 

 ence of the body back of the head, at the 

 commencement of the pectorals, 3.4 inch- 

 es ; at the commencement of the dorsal 

 fin 3.4 ; around the head 3.2, at the dis- 

 tance of 1.5 from the snout; in front of 

 the eyes 1.7; from the tip of the lower 

 jaw to the anal fin 10^ inches ; width of 

 the body over the pectorals 1.2, pupil 

 black, iris golden ; width between the 

 eyes .4; lateral line indistinct. Color 

 grayish brown above ; yellowish white 

 beneath, with a tinge of red about the 

 tail. — Sinrcr. 



History. — The Common Eel, found in 

 Connecticut river, and in the streams and 

 ponds in this state on the east side of the 

 Green Mountains, I suppose to belong to 

 this species. Not having obtained speci- 

 mens of this and the following species, J 

 can only give Dr. Storer's description of 

 them. In some of the ponds this Eel 

 grows to a very large size. They are fre- 

 quently taken at the outlet of Barnard 

 pond weighing 8 or 10 pounds. 



THE SILVER EEL. 



Murami lirgcvUen. — Le Soeur. 



Description. — Specimen 23 inches in 

 length : from the tip of the snout to the 

 base of the pectorals 7^ inches ; circum- 

 ference of the body back of the head at 

 the commencement of the pectorals 3^, 

 around the head 1.^ inch from the snout 

 3, in front of the eyes 1.4, at the origin of 

 the dorsal 3^; from the tip of the lower 

 jaw to the anal fin 9J ; width of the body 

 over the pectorals .7 ; width between the 

 eyes .3. Lateral line exceedingly dis- 

 tinct, appearing to divide equally the 

 darker colored back from the beautiful 

 lighter silvery abdomen For the extent 

 of 6 inches in front of the anal orifice, a 

 well marked line or furrow resembling in 

 appearance the lateral line. — Slorcr. 



History. — The fish known by the name 

 of Silver Eel on the east side of the Green 

 Mountains in this state, I suppose to be- 

 long to this species, but I have had no 

 opportunitv for deciding the point by tho 

 examination of specimens. 



II. CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. 



1. STURIONID.E, OR STURGEON FAM- 

 ILY. 



Fishes of this Family have free bran- 

 chsp, wide gill openings, an operculum, 

 but no lays in the gill membrane. 



