250 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



February and May. They arc then from 2 to 5 inches long, and perfectly transparent save f..r 

 a black line inside the body, running along the spinal cord. The numbers passing up a single 

 river during this ascent are almost beyond belief. In one of these migrations, or " eel-far. 

 upwards of three tons were captured in a single day in the Gloucester district in 1886, and 

 it has been calculated that more than 14,000 go to make a pound weight. In the previous 

 year the annual consumption of eels was estimated at a minimum of 1,650 tons, with a 

 total value of .130,000. Few obstacles seem too great to be overcome in their ascent, for 

 they will ascend the flood-gates of locks, or even travel overland if the ground be wet, till a 

 desirable resting-place is found. In some parts of England these young eels, or " elvi is, 

 they are called, are salted and made into cakes. 



The CoNGER-EEL is a marine species, differing from the river-eel, amongst other things 

 in its larger head and eyes, and in the arrangement of its teeth and the large size of the 

 gill-openings. The conger is also greatly superior in size, examples of between 6 and 7 feet 



CAT-FISH 



Note tht prtunct of barbtli, or **y"Arj," rcurj the rr.tuih 



in length and 60 Ibs. in weight being common. The females are larger than the males, and 

 an instance is on record of a female which was over 8 feet in length and weighed uS Hi*. 

 Congers feed on other fishes, cuttle-fishes, and lobsters, as well as upon one another, the larger 

 females eating the smaller males. 



SERl'EM-i II - are confined to tropical and sub-tropical sea-;, and are remarkable for their 

 extreme voracity. More than eighty species arc known, some of which are brilliantly coloured. 



The DEEr-si-:.\ l-'.l.l are represented by numerous speeies. and dwell at depths van ing 

 from 340 to 2.OOO fathoms." In some species the body is remarkably modified, the mouth being 

 of enormous size, and the stomach capable of marvellous di-ten-ion, so much so that eels of 

 this family have been captured which had swallowed fishes several times their own weight. The 

 tail in many of the deep-sea eels tapers to a fine hair-like point. 



The PAIMI ! I.I I s are remarkable for their bright spotted or mottled coloration, and 

 of large size, ranging from 6 to 8 feet in length. Armed with formidable teeth, the larger 



