. Natural history of the fishes of Massachusetts, embracing a practical essay on angling . lso with four strong bony supports, oneattached to each of the pectoral and belly fins,( constituting the first ray of each) by whichthe animal creeps on the bottom of the river, andperhaps where there is little or no water also, be-ing, as it seems, partly amphibious ; for althoughit had received a severe wound on the head, it didnot expire till it had been many hours out of thewater. It has no proper teeth, but short, flexible, 230 APODES. curved spines (or setce) on the lips ; one row onthe upper,
. Natural history of the fishes of Massachusetts, embracing a practical essay on angling . lso with four strong bony supports, oneattached to each of the pectoral and belly fins,( constituting the first ray of each) by whichthe animal creeps on the bottom of the river, andperhaps where there is little or no water also, be-ing, as it seems, partly amphibious ; for althoughit had received a severe wound on the head, it didnot expire till it had been many hours out of thewater. It has no proper teeth, but short, flexible, 230 APODES. curved spines (or setce) on the lips ; one row onthe upper, and two on the under Hp, (the up-per jaw short and moveable.) The pectoral finhas six radii, besides the leg, if I may so term it,or ambulatory spine. The head and the wholebody, except the thorax, are guarded by a coat ofmail, consisting of strong bony plates, supportingfour longitudinal rows of curved spines on eachside ; color of the body bright reddish yellow, ele-gantly variegated with black spots ; the fin red atthe extremities. It grows to about a foot inlength. THE COMMON Eels, when kept in fresh water ponds, grow verylarge, and are very voracious ; they are known toswallow frogs and lizards whole, which have beenfound in opening large ones. A gentleman atTwickenam, England, had a large pond, on whichhe bred a number of ducks and geese. He wasmuch astonished by the disappearance of large AUGUILLA. 231 numbers of goslings and ducklings, as soon as theytook to the water. Having occasion, about thistime, to draw his pond, he found a number ofeels, and on opening them, the undigested remainsof many of the lost birds were found. Eels havebeen caught in fresh water ponds, weighingeighteen and twenty pounds. They are supposed to be more universally spreadover the globe than any other tribe of animals, withthe exception of man. It is said that none areseen above the Falls of Niagara, or in Lake one supposes that all the eels in the inte-rior visit the sea, annu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectfishing, bookyear1
