43 
Leptocephalus and adult stages are known. The data are noted 
on the accompanying charts. 
1. Conger vulgaris. My article in “Nature'’ dealt in 
the main with the Mediterranean and did not say anything 
positive as to the spawning-places of the Conger in the Atlantic 
except that they lie at great depths not far from the Straits of 
Gibraltar. A further revison of the material has thrown more light 
upon this question. In the years 1903—06 the “Thor” made 
extensive investigations in the Nortli Atlantic between Iceland and 
Spain and found a considerable number of larvae of Conger vul¬ 
garis, but they were all quite or almost full-grown and consequently 
revealed nothing abont the spawning-places of the species, their age 
and the time they had been floating in the sea being unknown. 
It was therefore a great advance when we found larvae of 
only 9 mm. in length in the Mediterranean, enabling us to say that 
we were at or very close to the spawning-places. Furthermore, we 
ascertained that Conger larvae in the course of half a year grow 
ca. 5 cm, which gave us the first definite point of support for the 
determination of the age of any eel-larvae. By far the greater 
number of larvae below 2 cm. were found over depths greater thau 
2500 m., even greater than 3000 m., and, as alreadv mentioned, near 
the surface. During the first days of July and the last days of 
August investigations were carried out between the Balearic Isles 
and Sardinia. The early larvae were found in quantities in August 
but not in the beginning of July, and during the investigations in 
December, January and February not a single larva smaller than 
5 cm. was obtained in the whole Mediterranean. We may therefore 
draw the conclusion that Conger vulgaris spawns in summer and 
spring in the Mediterranean, somewhat earlier in the eastern than 
in the western basin. 
Thus the early larvae of the common Conger appeared to be 
very easy to obtain; they are fairly slovv in their movements and 
are found near the surface or right at the surface where they can 
be taken with any fine-meshed net slowly towed through the water. 
