Dr. A. Lindsay on the Amphioxus lanceolatus. 339 



offered presumptive evidence of tlie non-specific character of 

 what is, after all, a decidedly distinctive form ; and as I have 

 brought home some specimens and planted them in my botanical 

 garden, where I shall also introduce the acaulis and acanthoides, 

 I shall look forward to the result of experiments with these with 

 no little degree of interest, as in all probability, like so many 

 other experiments which I have been enabled to perform in the 

 same direction, these may serve still more to perplex the question 

 " What is a species V 



Cirencester, July 1857. 



XXXIII. — On the Amphioxus lanceolatus. 

 By Alexander Lindsay, M.D. 



The Amphioxus lanceolatus is said to inhabit most, if not all, 

 the European seas. It was first discovered on the coast of 

 Cornwall. Since that time it has occasionally, and at distant 

 intervals, been found on various other parts of the British coasts. 

 The late Mr. Yarrell, to whom we are indebted for its first accu- 

 rate description, had, when he wrote, only one specimen for his 

 guidance. Mr. Goodsir, who ably investigated the anatomy of 

 this interesting fish, had, while making his researches, only two 

 at his disposal. Hitherto it has been reckoned among the rarest 

 of our fishes, — the securing a specimen a something worthy of 

 note. 



The object of this communication is to show that in some 

 localities the Amphioxus is neither so rare nor so difficult to ob- 

 tain as is generally supposed, and that in localities supplying 

 the necessary conditions for its existence, it may be sought for 

 with every hope of success. We think it due to naturalists to 

 make them aware of this fact. To the zoologist this little 

 creature is full of interest, to the anatomist and physiologist 

 equally so. From the transparency of its tissues, and from its 

 being, like all animals low in the scale of organization, tenacious 

 of life, it affords great facilities for microscopic observation. 



The writer was desirous of procuring an Amphioxus for ana- 

 tomical purposes. Aware that it had been obtained within 

 recent years on the west coast of Scotland, he concluded that 

 by a diligent search others might be secured. His own oppor- 

 tunities for researches of this kind being few, he solicited the 

 aid of an intimate friend and industrious naturalist, Mr. David 

 Robertson of this city. He is engaged in preparing a list of the 

 Crustaceans procurable in the Frith of Clyde, for the Natural 

 History Society of Glasgow. Much of his spare time being 



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