658 NATURAL HISTOKY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



observed, aiid this uncertainty is aii insuperable obstacle to tbe acceptance of the Syrskian dis 

 covery. The supposed discovery of spermatozoa by A. S. Packard in the male Eel proved to be 

 another delusion. The contradiction of this imaginary discovery appeared in No. 26 of the second 

 volume of the Zoologischer Auzeiger, p. 193, in which it was stated that the motile bodies were not 

 spermatozoa, but yolk particles. This correction was also made by von Siebold's assistant, Dr. 

 Pauly, 1 and by S. Th. Cattie. 



"The reproductive organs of Conger vulgar is are very similar to those of A ngml la vulgaris; in 

 the undeveloped condition they show the ovaries lying in the same position in a cuff-shaped band 

 of a proportionally large size. Since C. vulgaris reaches nearly twice the size of A. vulgaris, indi- 

 viduals of six feet in length are not rare. The ovary is developed in captivity, and this, I am 

 convinced, is often the cause of the death of the Eel. In a Conger which died in the Berlin Aqua- 

 rium, and was cut open, the ovaries protruded very extensively, and a specimen which lies in the 

 Frankfort Aquarium burst on account of the extraordinary development of the ovaries. The ova- 

 ries of this Eel, which weighed twenty-two and one-half pounds, themselves weighed eight pounds, 

 and the number of eggs was about 3,300,000. The want of a natural opening for tbe escape of the 

 eggs was evidently in this case the cause of death. Male specimens of the Conger in an undeveloped 

 condition I have hitherto never had the opportunity to investigate. I received, however, in the 

 fall of 1879 a number of sea Eels, taken in the vicinity of Havre, whose average length was from 

 twenty-four to twenty-seven inches. These Eels ate greedily and grew rapidly. Only one was 

 tardy in its development, so that it could be easily distinguished from the rest. This, which was 

 the smallest of the Congers in the aquarium, died on the 20th of June, 1880, and was examined by 

 me on the same day. I was very much delighted when I found the sexual organs very different 

 from those which I had ever noticed before. After a single cut into them, there flowed out a milky 

 fluid, which, under the microscope, with a power of 450 diameters, showed a great number of sper- 

 matozoa, in the liveliest motion, and in which head and tail were evidently visible. There could 

 be no doubt that I had found a sexually mature male of Conger vulgaris. Two fragments of the 

 roc were laid aside for further investigation, and the Eel, which was twenty-eight inches long, was 

 prepared first in alcohol and then in Wickersheimer fluid." 



In the paper before us Dr. Jacoby presents a full anatomical description of the generative 

 organs of the Conger as demonstrated by himself and Dr. Rabl-Ruckhard. It seems unnecessary 

 to repeat this description, since the organs are very similar to those in the common Eel. By the 

 kindness of Dr. Hermes we are permitted to reproduce the drawings which accompany this 

 description. 



Compared with the description of the roe, and the figure of the organ found by Syrski and by 

 Hermes, called " Lappenorgan," a great similarity is noticed between them. It must be borne in 

 mind that in this case we were comparing the entirely undeveloped organs of the Eel with the 

 fully ripe reproductive organs of the Conger, so every doubt as to the male nature of the Syrskian 

 organs ought to be thrown aside. Also in the comparison of the size of the male with that of the 

 female the Conger shows the same relations as the Eel investigated by Syrski, to wit, that the 

 males are smaller than the females. 



'Austrian Fishery Gazette, 1880, No. 12, p. 90. 



