I'KTROMYZID.E. 



CHONDROPTERYG1L 



I'ETROMYZW.E. 



THE LANCELET. 







Amphioxus lanceolatus, YAK HELL. 



,, ,, COUCH, Mag. Nat. Hist. 1838, and Corn. Fauna, p. 54. 



Limax PALI.AS, Spic. Zool. X. p. 19, t, i. fig. 1 1. 



AMPHIOXUS. Generic Characters. Body compressed, the surface without 

 scales, both ends pointed ; a single dorsal fin extending the whole length of the 

 back ; no pectoral or ventral fins ; mouth on the under part of the head, narrow, 

 elongated, each lateral margin furnished with a row of slender filaments. 



THE singular little animal here figured of the natural size, 

 although one of the smallest, as well as the last, among 

 British fishes, is by no means deficient in interest. The 

 specimen, the only one I ever saw, and which is probably 

 also the only one that has been taken for many years, was 

 sent to me by Mr. Couch, who found it himself on the 

 shore near Polperro. A portion of the tail of this little 

 fish was sticking out from underneath a stone in a small 

 pool left by the tide. Mr. Couch perceiving it, took it up 

 with some water in the hollow of his hands. It was alive, 

 very active, and so transparent that the viscera were perceiv- 



