2 RONDELETIAN EEL. 



form, but round and sharp-pointed : the pectoral fm$ 

 are small, oval, and furnished with sixteen rays. 

 The habits of this species resemble those of the pre- 

 ceding, and it is said to swim with great vigour 

 and activity. It seems to have given rise to the 

 fabulous narratives recorded by some authors of the 

 vast sea-serpents supposed to be sometimes seen in 

 various parts of the northern ocean. 



RONJ)ELETIAN EEL. 



Anguilla Myrus. A. mgricans, rostro elongate. 



Dusky Eel, with elongated snout. 



Muraena Myrus. M. pinna ambiente alba, margine nigro. Lin. 



Syt. Nat. p. 427, 

 M. rostro acuto lituris albis vario, margine pinnae dorsalis 



nigro. Arted. gen. 24. syn. 40. 

 Myrus Rondeletii. ? Gem. Aldr. Will. p. 109. 



IF the Muraena Myrus of Linnaeus be the Myrus 

 of Rondeletius, it is thus described by that author. 

 It bears a greater general resemblance to a serpent 

 than to an eel ; having a long sharp snout, and a 

 thin, round, blackish body, without either spots or 

 scales : it has one branchial orifice on each side, 

 and is furnished with two shallow fins of a skinny 

 substance ; one running from the neck to the tail, 

 and the other from the vent to the same part ; the 

 border of both being black, as in the Conger : the 

 sides, from the beginning of the neck, are marked 

 with certain yellow specks, more apparent in the 



