9— A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE APODAL FISHES OR EELS 
INHABITING THE WATERS OF AMERICA AND EUROPE. 
By David Starr Jordan and Bradley MOore Davis. 
In the present paper is given the synonymy of fishes of the order of 
Apodes, commonly known as Eels, Morays,or Congers, which are known 
to inhabit the North Atlantic and the waters of America and Europe. 
Few groups of fishes are less thoroughly known than the eels. They 
are not so easily obtained by collectors as fishes of most other types, 
and they have been less satisfactorily studied. Many of the species 
currently recognized are doubtful or based on insufficient or imperfect 
material. 
The division into families is still a provisional one, for the osteology 
of only a few of the genera has been critically examined. It is hoped 
that the present paper may help in some degree to fix our knowledge 
and to prevent farther confusion. 
The work of makiug a critical review of the eels was begun in 1888 
by the late Charles Harvey Bollman. Much of the synonymy of the 
species was collected by him, and several analytical keys to the species 
were prepared. His manuscript has been entirely rewritten by the 
present authors, who wish however to express their acknowledgment of 
the help received from it. We are also largely indebted to Hr. Charles 
H. Gilbert, who has placed the Albatross collections at our disposal and 
has freely given us the use of his unpublished descriptions and deter- 
minations. 
This paper is based on the collections in the Museum of the Univer- 
sity of Indiana and on material collected for the U. S. Fish Commission 
by the steamer Albatross. Most of the specimens in the IJ. S. National 
Museum have also been examined by us. Of the 128 species here recog- 
nized, 53 have not been studied by us. 
We accept the order of Apodes as limited by Div Gill, including in it 
the JEnchelyoephali and Colocephali of Professor Cope. Of eel-shaped 
fishes we exclude the Gymnotidce ( Glanencheli ), Monop teridcv ( Ichthyo - 
cephali ), Symbranchidcc ( Holostomi )., and Saccopliaryngidcv ( Lyomeri ), 
which form each a separate order or suborder of Physostoinous fishes, 
and among which we should probably look for the ancestry of the 
Apodes. 
The order of Apodes has been succinctly defined by Dr. Gill (Century 
Dictionary, p. 262) in the following words : 
Teleost fishes with the intermaxillaries atrophied or lost, the supermaxillaries lat- 
eral, and the body angiulliforin and destitute of ventral fins. 
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