LAMPERN. 



307 



By tlie lOrh. of ^lay nearly the whole of those examined had 

 deposited their spawn. In addition to this Sir William Jardiue 

 remarks, "The manner in which the Common (Sea) Lamprey 

 and the Lamperns form their spawning beds is very curious. 

 They are not furnished with any elongation of jaw, but the 

 want is supplied by their sucker-like mouth, by which they 

 individually remove each stone. Their power is immense. 

 Stones of a very large size are transported, and a large 

 furrow is soon formed. The Sea Lampreys remain in pairs, 

 two on each spawning place, and while there employed retain 

 themselves affixed by their mouths to a large stone." The 

 Lampern, and another small species which he has not 

 determined, but of which I shall give an account, are gre- 

 garious, acting in concert, and forming in the same manner 

 a general spawning bed. 



Some further particulars are given by an anonymous writer 

 in "Loudon's Magazine of Natural History," vol. v. "On 

 the 8th. of May I saw a number of Lampreys in the act 

 of spawning. After observing them for some time, I observed 

 one twist its tail round another in such a manner, and they 

 both stirred up the sand and small gravel from the bottom 

 in such a way, as convinced me it was a conjunction of the 

 sexes. However there were so many of them together, and 

 they kept so continually moving about, that I could not 

 sincfle out the two individuals, and thus ascertain whether 

 they were male and female; but I felt so desirous of being 

 able to set this question at rest that I went again next 

 morning, and was fortunate enough to find only two, a male 

 and female. I then witnessed several sexual conjunctions, 

 during which the sand and gravel were stirred up with them, 

 and each of which was followed by the ejection of a jet of 

 e(^"s from the female. I then caught them both, and dissected 

 them. The sexual organ in the male was projected above a 

 quarter of an inch, and the body filled with milt; the female, 

 although she seemed to have already shed a considerable 

 quantity of her spawn had still a tolerable stock remaining. 

 I frequently afterwards witnessed the same thing, and always 

 found the same difference of sexes." 



The example described was procured from the Severn, and 

 was the largest of two or three. It measured about a foot 



