THE EEL FAMILY 1 99 



and the small development of the sexual organs in the eels 

 which migrate to the sea, it seems likely that some months 

 must elapse before the organs are fully developed and spawning 

 takes place. We do not know how long it takes for the larvae to 

 develop up to the time at which the transformation commences : 

 the latter process in the conger takes a month or little more. It 

 is possible therefore that the elvers when they ascend rivers 

 are about six months old, and are derived from parents which 

 spawned the previous summer, and migrated to the sea the 

 autumn before that. 



Eels seem to take some years to grow from the condition of 

 elvers to the mature condition in which they descend to the sea. 

 It has been stated that they take four or five years to reach a 

 weight of 5 or 6 lbs. 



The Conger {Conger vulgaris). 



Distijig/tis/iiiig Characters. — Head and eyes larger than in 

 the eel. Gill openings large. Dorsal fin commencing close be- 

 hind the breast fins and continued into the ventral round the 

 end of the tail. Mouth wide, the upper jaw slightly longer than 

 the lower : gape reaching back to the middle of the eye. The 

 front nostril tubular. Teeth in a row close together, forming 

 a cutting edge. Colour dark above, light or white beneath. 

 White spots mark the openings of the lateral line. No scales. 

 Margins of the fins black. I.ight-coloured specimens are often 

 caught : their colour has become lighter because they have been 

 lying on sandy ground. The females attain sometimes to over 

 8 feet in length and 128 lbs. in weight, but this is rare, probably 

 unique. Specimens between 6 and 7 feet in length and over 

 60 lbs. in weight are more frequently taken. The small specimens 

 are called ' straps ' by the fishermen at Plymouth. 



Habitat. — Coasts of Europe, Mediterranean to St. Helena, 

 also in Japan and Tasmania. It occurs in the Orkneys, and is 

 fairly common on the west coast of Ireland, but less common in 

 the North Sea than in the English Channel. 



Food. — Fish and squid or cuttlefishes, also crustaczea. It is 

 much given to cannibalism, and the females swallow the smaller 

 males. 



