SPOTTED EEL. 



them on the belly : they are then slit and hung on 

 a frame to dry in order to drain away the oil or fat 

 which is extremely plentiful, insomuch that a Conger 

 of a hundred weight is said to waste to twenty 

 pounds during the process. 



The Conger is a very voracious animal, preying 

 on the smaller fishes, as well as on various kinds of 

 Crustacea, and particularly on the smaller kind of 

 crabs during their soft state after having cast their 

 shell. 



SPOTTED EEL. 



Anguilla Ophis. A. alba,fusco maculata, cauda aptera. 



White Eel, spotted with brown, with finless tail. 



Muraena Ophis. M. cauda aptera cuspidata, cauda tereti. Lin. 



Syst. Nat. p. 425. 



Muraena maculata cauda aptera. Block. 5. p. 31. t. l64. 

 Serpens marinus maculosus. Will, append, p. 19. t G-. 9. 



THIS species is readily distinguished from both 

 the preceding by its remarkable colours, as well as 

 by the more slender form of the body in proportion 

 to its length : the fins are also much wider, and the 

 tail is naked towards the tip ; both dorsal and caudal 

 fins terminating at some distance from that part : 

 the whole body is of a silvery white colour, marked 

 on the back and sides by a triple row of large dark- 

 brown oblong spots or patches : the head is rather 

 slender; the eyes of moderate size; the mouth wide, 

 the teeth strong and slightly curved, and the pectoral 



