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Show 258 PISCES. Mur. conger, L ·,• Bl· ' 155 · (The Conger Eel.) F.o und in all the seas of E uro Pe'• it attains the length of five or SIX. feet and the th1· c k ness of a man's leg·~ dorsal a. nd ana.l edged With black; latera1 1.m e d ot te d with whitish. It 1s not m much request for the table. Mu r. myrus, L .,. Randel ' 407. r' 1) The form of a Conger, but remam· s sma1 1 er,• 1't 1's known by spots on the snout, a band ac.ro.s s t h e occ·t pu t , a nd two rows of dots on the nape, all of a wh1t1sh colour.(2) In some foreign Congers the dorsal commences even before the pectorals, or at least on their base.(3) The 0PHISURus, Lacep. Differs from the true Eels in the dorsal and anal, which cease be. ~ the reach the end of the tail, which is thus deprived of a fin, .ore y 'fi f h . and terminates like a punch. The posterior 0~1 ce ~ t e no~tr~l opens on the very edge of the upper lip, and the mtestmes a;e s~ml· lar to those of an Eel, a portion of them, however, extendmg 1nto the base of the tail beyond the anus. The pectoral fins of some are of the ordinary size; their teeth are trenchant and pointed. . Mur. serpens, L.; Salv., 57. (The Snake Eel.) S1x feet and upwards in length, and ol the thickness of a man'.s arm; brown above, silvery beneath; the snout slender and po~nted; twenty rays in the branchial membrane. From the Medtterranean.(4) In others the pectorals are so extremely small, as sometimes to (1) Myrus, a fish so called by the ancients, which some have conside:ed as ~e male of the Murrena; Uondelet was the first who applied it to this species, ~h1ch is very distinct, although since Willughby, no one has properly described 1t but Risso; no drawing has been made ofit. (2) The Mediterranean produces other small species of Congers described by Laroche and Risso unuer the names of Mur. balearica, Lar., Ann. du Mus., XIII, xx, 3, or Mur. castini, Risso, Mur. mystax, Lar., lb., XXID, 10;-Mur. nigra, Risso, p. 93. The Mur. strongylodon, Schn., 91, which is far from being a vari~: of myrus as that author supposes, should also be referred to them.-The .llngut marbree, Quoy and Gaym., Zool., Voy. de Freycin., pl. 51, f. 2. (3) Mur. talabou, Russel, 38;-Mur. savanna, Cuv., from Martinique;-the C. a cltapelet, Krusenst., v, lx, 7. (4) This is doubtless the place of Mur. aphis, nl., 154, Opltis ltyala, ~ucban., pl. v, f. 5;-0phislangmuseau, Quoy et Gaym., Zool. Voy. Freycm. ., P1 · l t, f•. l·' - Ophisurus guttatus, Cuv ., a new species from Surinam. N.B. The CoGRtrs, Rafin., Nov. Gen., p. 62, must be Ophisuri without bran· chial membranes; we fear there is some mistake in this as in his EcuELus. MALACOPTERYGII APODES. 259 have escaped the notice of observers. They connect the Eels with the Murrenre; their teeth are obtuse.( 1) MuRENA, Thunb.-GYMNOTHORAX, BI.-MuR..£NOPHis, Lacep. The Murrenre, properly so called, have no vestige of pectorals; their branchia:: open on each side by a small hole; their opercula are 50 thin, and their branchiostegal rays so slender and concealed under the skin, that able naturalists have denied their existence. The stomach is a short sac, and the uatatory bladder small, oval, and placed near the upper part of the abdomen. Those species which have a very visible dorsal and anal, are the Murcenophis of Lacepede. Some of them have a single row of sharp teeth in each jaw. The most celebrated is M. helena, L.; Bl., 153. Common in the Mediterranean; a fish much esteemed by the ancients, who fed it in ponds expressly constructed for that purpose. The history of Vredius Pollio, who caused his transgressing slaves to be flung alive into these ponds as food for the Murrenre, is well known. It attains a length of three feet and more, is mottled with brown and yellowish, and is excessively voracious.(2) Others have two rows of sharp teeth in each jaw, independently of the one on the vomer.(3) In a third kind there are two rows of round or conical teeth in each jaw: such is · M. unicolor, Laroche, Ann. Mus., XIII, xxv, 15; M. Christini, Risso. From the Mediterranean; everywhere covered with close, small, brown points or lines, which give it the appear· ance of being uniformly brown.( 4) We find some which have a single row of lateral round teeth, and two rows also round on the vomer, the anterior ones conical.(5) (1) Mur. colubrina, Bodd., or annulata, Thunb., or Murerwphia colubrina, Lac:, V, xix, 1;-Mur. fasciata, Thunb. ;-Mur. nob. maculosa, given under the name of OphiiiUrus aphis, Lacep., II1 vi, 2;-the Oplt. atternan, Q.uoy et Gaym., Zool. Freycin., pl. 45, f. 2. (2) Add, theM. moringa, Cuv., of the Antilles, Catesb., II, xxi;-M. punctata, Bl., Schn.;-M. meleagris, Sh. or M. pintade, Quoy et Gaym., Voy. Freycin., pl. 52,f.2;-M. parthenon, Id., lb.,£ 2;-M. favaginea, HI., Schn., 105;-M. panthtrine, Lacep., or M. picta, Thunberg. (3) Murenophis gris, Lacep., V, xix, 3. (4) The other species are new. (5) MurenopMs etoil{, Lacep., or M. nebulosa, Thunb., Seb. II, lxix, 1;-M. ®dule, Lac., V, xix, 2 (M. catenatw, Bl. Schn.);-ld: sordida, Cuv., Seb. IT, lxix, 4. \ |
