CLASS V. PISCES: ORDER 3. TELEOSTEA. 



481 



THE SHARP-NOSED EEL. 



of eels has been a matter of dispute: Aristotle believed them to spring from mud; at a later 

 day they were supposed to be bred in turf; another idea was that the hair of the tails of stal- 

 lions, deposited in water, would turn into eels. For a long period they were supposed to be 

 vivipai'DUs, but they are now known to breed by means of eggs produced from roe, like most 

 otlier fishes. 



Gcinis ANGUILLA : Anguilla, includes the Sharp-nosed Eel of Europe, ^1. acutirostris : 



it is from one to four feet long, 

 and weighs from one to twenty- 

 five pounds. This species feed 

 on frogs and fish, and are most 

 active at night. They occasion- 

 ally quit the water and glide 

 over the meadows when moist- 

 ened with dew, as well to change 

 their position as to obtain food. The young grow to the length of a foot the first year. This 

 is the common eel of Europe, and is found in most of the rivers of the milder parts ; its abundance 

 in the rivers of England is astonishing : in the Thames eighteen hundred young ones have been 

 calculated to pass by a given point in a minute. The flesh is very savory, and extensively con- 

 sumed. 



Another European species is the Broad-nosed Eel, A. latirostris, which is nearly as common 

 as the preceding, but seldom weighs over five pounds. The Snig, A. mediorostris^ resembles the 

 common eels, but is less abundant. Found throughout Europe. 



The Common New York Eel, A. tcmiirostris^ is one to two feet long, and seems to be the 

 American representative of the sharp-nosed eel of Europe. It is greenish-olive above, yellow 

 beneath. It is very savory and abundant, being caught in our bays and creeks at all seasons 

 of the year. In spring it is taken in large willow-baskets, called ccl-jjots, and by torch-light in 

 the evening with spears. In the winter it is speared through holes broken in the ice, being 

 at tliis time in a torpid state. It is very voracious, feeding on water-insects, small insects, 

 and any kind of animal matter. It often moves from one creek to another by crawling over 

 the land. The Silver Ed is thought by De Kay to be only a variety of this; the Common Eel 

 of Massachusetts and New England is also probably of this species. 



The Beaked Eel, A. rostrata, is eighteen to twenty-four inches long, and found in the waters 

 of Western New York. 



The Sea-Eel, A. occanica, is from two to fiv^e feet long; has very thick and fleshy lips; re- 

 sembles the conger eel; found on our coast. 



The Bull-IIead Eel, A. macrocephala, has the head large, the eyes large and prominent; 

 above it is olive-yellow, beneath white ; found in Saratoga Lake. The Boston Eel, A. Bos- 

 toniensis, is two feet long, and found on the northern coast. 



Genus CONGER : Cowjcr, includes the Conger Eel, C. vulgaris : it varies in length from 



three to ten feet, and in weight 

 from five to one hundred and 

 thirty pounds. It is a most vo- 

 racious fish, feeding often on the 



^m y^""S ^^ ^^^ *^^^'" species; from 

 ■^WJ j^Q stomach of one that weighed 

 twenty-five pounds, Mr. Yarrell 

 took three dabs and a young 

 conger three feet long. The 

 flesh is not in much estimation, 

 Common in the European waters; 



TUE CONGliU EKL, 



but being sold cheap, is largely used by the poorer classes, 

 abundant on the British and French coasts. 



The .'Xmerican Conger Eel, C. occidcntalis, resembl<js the preceding, but is said to have 

 some difference of construction in the teeth. It is foimd on our coasts, and is sometimes seen in 



Vol. II.— 61 



