HAIR-TAILED GLASS EEL. TilurKS ii iMurut. 



PIG-NOSED GLASS EEL. - Hyoprorus Messinensis. 



ROUND-HEADED GLASS EEL. Leptocephalus 



as a fish was allowed to fall into the water the Gymnotus would curve itseJF slightly, 

 .seemed to stiffen its muscles, and the victim turned over on its back, struck as if dead 

 by the violence of the shock. 



When full grown, the Electric Eel will attain a length of five or six feet, and is then 

 a truly formidable creature. The body is rounded, and the scales small and barely 

 risible. According to Marcgrave, the native name for this fish is Carapo. 



WE have already seen some examples of fishes where the body is extremely 

 transparent, and now come to an entire family where this peculiarity is the chief and 

 most obvious characteristic. 



The skeleton of the Leptocephalidse, or Glass Eels as they are termed, from their 

 Eel-like shape and singular translucency, is very imperfect, merely consisting of cartilage, 

 and so slight, that even in the head, where the greatest strength is required, the brain 

 can be seen through the translucent skull in which it lies. Their bodies are always 

 extremely compressed and mostly leaf-like, so transparent that when lying in a vessel 

 containing water they would hardly be noticed, and the lateral line is formed by the 

 intersection of the muscles, as may be seen by reference to the illustration. 



The PIG-NOSED GLASS EEL may be known by the lengthened form of its head and 

 snout, which are far longer in proportion to the dimensions of the fish than in any other 

 member of the family. The generic term Hyoprorus literally signifies swine-beaked, 

 and in former days was applied to a certain kind of galley which had a long and 

 slightly turned-up beak. The sudden height of the body just behind the head is very 

 remarkable, and on close examination, a row of mucous pores will be found along the 

 jaws and on the head. The eyes are not very large, and the general length of the 

 species is between four and five inches. As its specific name imports, it has been 

 taken at Mebsina. 



