CONGER EEL. 



Anguilla Conger. A. fusca, subtus subargentea, linea lateral* 



albo-punctata. 

 Brown Eel, silvery beneath, with the lateral line speckled witii 



white. 

 Muraena Anguilla. M. maxilla inferiore longiore, corpore uni- 



colore. Lin. Syst. Nat. p. 420. 

 M. rostro tentaculis duobus, linea laterali ex punctis albida. Lin. 



Syst. Nat. Gmel. p. 1135. 

 Conger. Will, ichth. p. 111. t. G. 6. 



THE Conger is so nearly allied in general appear- 

 ance to the common eel that it might at first view 

 be considered as the same species : it is however 

 in general of a darker colour on the upper part, 

 and of a brighter or more silvery tinge beneath ; 

 the whiteness on the sides being sometimes disposed 

 into a kind of large beds or patches : the upper jaw 

 is rather longer than the lower, and the lateral line 

 is broad and whitish; being marked by a row of 

 small white specks : the size of the Conger is also, 

 when full grown, far superior to that of the common 

 eel. This fish is an inhabitant of the Mediterranean 

 and the Northern seas, as well as of those surround- 

 ing some of the American islands. It seems how- 

 ever to arrive at a larger size in the Mediterranean 

 than elesewhere ; specimens being sometimes taken 

 of the length of ten feet, and of the weight of more 

 than 100 pounds. 



The Conger is only an occasional visitant of fresh 

 waters, residing generally in the sea. In the winter 



