4-76 PISCES (OSSEI) MALACOPT. [ANGUILLA. 



Winter in the brackish water, and to deposit its spawn ; the young fry 

 migrating up the river in the Spring. Many, however, certainly remain 

 in ponds all the year, and breed there. Roves about, and feeds, prin- 

 cipally in the night. Said to quit its native element occasionally, and 

 to cross meadows, in search of other waters, as well as for the purpose of 

 feeding on worms and snails*. Very tenacious of life. Obs. This species 

 varies a good deal in colour, according to the nature of the water in which 

 it is found. Those in which the belly is of a clear white are called some- 

 times Silver Eels. 



164. A. latirostris, Yarr. (Broad-nosed Eel.) Snout 

 broad and rounded ; gape extending to a vertical line from 

 the posterior part of the orbit : more than one-third of the 

 entire length before the dorsal, and about one-seventh 

 before the pectorals. 



A. latirostris, Yarr. in Proceed, of Zool. Soc. 1831. p. 133. Riss. 

 Hist. Nat. de lEur. Merid. torn. in. p. 199.? Blunt-headed Eel, 

 Yarr. in Zool. Journ. vol. iv. p. 469. Glut Eel, Bowd. Brit. fr. 

 wat. Fish. Draw. no. 22. L'Anguille pimperneaux, Cuv. Reg. 

 An. torn. n. p. 349. 



LENGTH. From one to two, perhaps sometimes three, feet. 



DESCRIPT. (Form.) Body much larger and thicker anteriorly than in 

 the last species, but more compressed behind; thickness not uniform 

 beyond the commencement of the dorsal, from which point the compres- 

 sion of the sides rapidly increases: depth greatest at the nape: head 

 large, appearing, when viewed from above, broader than the body : snout 

 blunt and rounded, flattened before the eyes: jaws broad; the lower one 

 wider and longer than the upper : gape large ; the commissure reaching 

 to, or almost beyond, a tangent to the posterior part of the orbit: lips 

 thick and fleshy at the sides of the mouth, and partially reflexed : eyes 

 larger than in the A. acutirostris ; the distance from them to the end 

 of the snout equals at least twice their diameter ; the distance between 

 them rather less : dorsal commencing at a point beyond one-third of the 

 entire length; both that and the anal thicker in substance and more 

 elevated than the same fins in the A. acutirostris, their height equalling 

 nearly half the depth : vent before the middle by a space equalling about 

 three-fourths of the depth : tail broader, and more rounded at its ex- 

 tremity : pectorals somewhat larger, and placed, as well as the branchial 

 orifices, further behind ; the distance from the line of their insertion to 

 the end of the snout is contained not more than seven times in the entire 

 length, and not so much as twice and a half in the portion anterior to the 

 commencement of the dorsal fin. Number of vertebrae one hundred and 

 fifteen t- (Colours.) Back and sides of a darker colour than in the 

 A. acutirostris, and having more of a bluish than a greenish tinge; the 

 lateral line, however, forms a pale green stripe down each side : under- 

 neath, including a portion of the anal, white, without any yellow tinge. 

 The colours, however, are variable, as in the last species. 



This species, which is probably the Grig % or Glut Eel of Pennant, is 

 nearly as common as the last. It has not been known, however, to exceed 



* See an instance mentioned by Dr. Hastings in his Nat. Hut. of Worcestersh. p. 134. 

 t The number of vertebrae rests on the authority of Mr. Yarrell. 



| I am informed by Mr. Yarrell, that the term Griff is applied in many places generally to all 

 small-sized Eels. Too much reliance, therefore, must not be placed upon the mere name. 



