474 PISCES (OSSEI) MALACOPT. [ECHENEIS. 



LENGTH. From twelve to eighteen inches. BLOCH. 



DESCRIPT. (Form*) Body moderately elongated ; covered with small 

 scales : head perfectly flat above ; the shield consisting of from seventeen 

 to nineteen transverse elevated bars divided into two series ; the margin 

 of the shield cartilaginous : eyes lateral : mouth wide and rounded : lower 

 jaw advancing beyond the upper ; furnished, as well as the intermaxilla- 

 ries, with small card-like teeth ; a very regular row of small teeth, resem- 

 bling cilia, along the edge of the maxillaries, which form the outer 

 margin of the upper jaw; the anterior margin of the vomer furnished 

 with a band of card-like teeth, and its whole surface, as well as that of 

 the tongue, rough: four orifices near the upper lip; the anterior pair 

 cylindrical, the posterior oval : gill-opening very large : lateral line, which 

 is scarcely visible, taking a curve towards the end of the pectoral fin : 

 dorsal single, commencing a little beyond the middle of the length : anal 

 opposite : vent nearer the caudal than the head : caudal crescent-shaped : 

 all the fin-rays soft, much branched, and invested with a thick membrane. 



B. 9ti D. 21; C. 20; P. 22; V. 4. 



(Colour.) "Dusky brown." TTJRT. 



This species, which is well known for its power of adhering, by means 

 of the shield on the head, to other fish, and to the bottoms of vessels, 

 is found in the Mediterranean, as well as in various parts of the ocean. 

 In a single instance it has occurred in the British seas, Dr. Turton having 

 taken a specimen at Swansea, from the back of a Cod-Fish, in the summer 

 of 1806. 



(III. A P O D E S.) 



GEN. 61. ANGUILLA, Cuv. 



(1. ANGUILLA, Cuv.) 



163. A. acutirostris, Yarr. (Sharp-nosed Eel.) 

 Snout sharp, compressed at the sides; gape extending to 

 beneath the middle of the eye : about one-third of the 

 entire length before the dorsal, and between one-eighth 

 and one-ninth before the pectorals. 



A. acutirostris, Yarr. in Proceed, of Zool. Soc. 183 1Z p. 133. jRiss. 

 Hist. Nat. de FEur. Merid. torn. in. p. 198.? A. vulgaris, 

 Turt. Brit. Faun. p. 87. Flem. Brit. An. p. 199. Mursena 

 Anguilla, Block, Ichth. pi. 73. Common Eel, Penn. Brit. Zool. 



Compiled from Cuvier and Bloch. 



t The above formula is from Bloch : according to Cuvier, there are but eight rays in the 

 branchiostegous membrane. 



