FEB 16 ms 



Thé Lateral Sensory System in the Muraenidae. 



By 

 Edward Phelps A11ÌS jr. 



(With Plates VI— VIII.) 



The only description of any pretention that I have been able to 

 find of the lateral canals of any of the Muraenidae, is a work by 

 CoUing-e (No. 12). published in 1895, in which the general course 

 and arrang-ement of the canals of Conger are given, and also, in a 

 general way, their innervation. Houghton (Nos. 19 and 20), before 

 CoUinge, had published two short articles relating' to certain features 

 in the canals of the same fish; and Stenonius, still earlier, is said by 

 Merkel (No. 21) to have fully described the lateral canal in the com- 

 mon eel. This work by Stenonius I have been unable to consult, but 

 as it apparently relates to the lateral canal of the body alone, it can 

 h'àxe but little bearing on the present work. Of Collinge's work I 

 need only say that my results differ so markedly from his that they 

 would almost seem to relate to a different fish. 



My investigation of the Muraenidae began with a study of the 

 adult Conger, the specimens used being the "anguilles de mer" caught 

 in the English Channel, and currently sold in the "Halles", Paris. 

 Having found, in these adult Congers, certain marked peculiarities in 

 tlie lateral canals, that seemed to approach the selachian rather than 

 the teleostean arrangement, I decided to investigate the canals in some 

 Selachian that could be easily obtained, before continuing the work 

 on Conger. This led to an investigation of the lateral and ampullary 

 sensory systems of Mustelus, the i-esults of which have already been 

 published (No. 1). 



