520 AMERICAN FISHES. 
deep, and it falls a victim to porpoises, dolphins, sharks, and large rays. 
In the Mediterranean one of its bitterest enemies is its own relative, 
the large Mureena, and the combats of these antagonists were famed even 
among the ancients. Against the Murena its ordinary stratagems, such 
as suddenly taking refuge in holes, or firmly coiling its tail round stones 
or in crevices, are of no avail; and as a proof of its tenacity of life the 
old story relates that the Murzena bites off its tail, but that it survives 
the wound. 
“The diet of the Conger comprises all kinds of fish—principally belong- 
ing to the Clupeoid. and Gadoid families, and especially Rocklings— 
lobsters, crabs, and cuttles ; and it shows no mercy to its own species. 
The Conger is consequently taken in numbers on the hook, with a bait 
of Herring or other fish; but the bait should, if possible, be fresh. Yet 
it does not disdain decomposing flesh, and it has been found concealed 
within the dead bodies of large animals. 
“The spawning-season occurs in winter. Buckland estimated the num- 
ber of eggs in a female at over fifteen million, perhaps a liberal computation ; 
but Day mentions a female, weighing nearly 7 kilograms, that had died in 
the Southport Aquarium, and the ovaries of which weighed rather more than 
3 kilograms, containing over six million eggs. In fecundity the Conger is 
thus by no means inferior to the common Eel. The actual spawning has 
never been observed ; but the young have been diligently studied in recent 
times, especially by the Italian Facciola. He distinguishes between six 
different Leptocephalus forms belonging to this species, more or less distinct 
transition forms which compose an unbroken series from the most degener- 
ate larvae, Leptocephalus inequalis, or from the longer known Leptocephalus 
morrisit, to the easily recognisable fry of Conger niger. The first mentioned 
larve are sharp-nosed, transparent, slender, but deep behind the middle of 
the body, are furnished with comparatively large, subulate jaw-teeth, and 
have the beginning of the dorsal fin situated in the posterior third of the 
length of the body, the vent in the hindmost fifth thereof. Leptocephalus 
morrisii is blunt-nosed, with prominent tip of the snout, terete, though 
transparent, and of more uniform depth, has lost all the jaw-teeth or the 
greater number thereof, and has the beginning of the dorsal fin situated at 
a distance from the tip of the snout measuring about 28% of the length of 
the body, the vent at a distance from the same point measuring about 38% of 
the said length. The ascertained fry of Conger niger are brown on the back, 
and at first show two longitudinal bands of chestnut-brown. As we have 
