250 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
February and May. They are then from 2 to 5 inches long, and perfectly transparent save for 
a black line inside the body, running along the spinal cord. The numbers passing up a single 
river during this ascent are almost beyond belief. In one of these migrations, or “ eel-fares,” 
upwards of three tons were captured in a single day in the Gloucester district in 1886, and 
it has been calculated that more than 14,000 go to make a pound weight. In the previous 
year the annual consumption of eels was estimated at a minimum of 1,650 tons, with a 
total value of 130,000. Few obstacles seem too great to be overcome in their ascent, for 
they will ascend the flood-gates of locks, or even travel overland if the ground be wet, till a 
desirable resting-place is found. In some parts of England these young eels, or “ elvers,” as 
they are called, are salted and made into cakes. 
The Conger-eel is a marine species, differing from the river-eel, amongst other things, 
in its larger head and eyes, and in the arrangement of its teeth and the large size of the 
gill-openings. The conger is also greatly superior in size, examples of between 6 and 7 feet 
Photo by Dr. R. U'. ShufoMt] [ff'ashingtor 
CAT-FISH 
Note the presence of barbels, or '^feelers," round the mouth 
in length and 60 lbs. in weight being common. The females are larger than the males, and 
an instance is on record of a female which was over 8 feet in length and weighed 128 lbs. 
Congers feed on other fishes, cuttle-fishes, and lobsters, as well as upon one another, the larger 
females eating the smaller males. 
Serpent-eels are confined to tropical and sub-tropical seas, and are remarkable for their 
extreme voracity. More than eighty species are known, some of which are brilliantly coloured. 
The Deep-sea Eels are represented by numerous species, and dwell at depths vaiT'ing 
from 340 to 2,000 fathoms. In some species the body is remarkably modified, the mouth being 
of enormous size, and the stomach capable of marvellous distension, so much so that eels of 
this family have been captured which had swallowed fishes several times their own weight. The 
tail in many of the deep-sea eels tapers to a fine hair-like point. 
The Painted Eels are remarkable for their bright spotted or mottled coloration, and are 
of large size, ranging from 6 to 8 feet in length. Armed with formidable teeth, the larger 
