L Aim PERN. ' 195 



disc with numerous conical teeth, arranged in oblique series, those nearest to the buccal 

 cavity being largest and partly bicuspid. First dorsal fin rather widely separated from the 

 second. The distance of the last gill-opening from the extremity of the snout is one fifth, 

 or in small individuals, one fourth of the total length. Body marbled with black." 



Sub-class Family 



CFCLUSTOMA TA . PETROMVZONTID^.. 



gAMPERN, OR filVER gAMPREY. 



{Petroniyzon fluviatilis.) 



Lampe.tnc medium ^ftius, Willughby, Hist. Pise. p. io6, tab. G. 3, fig. 2. 



Lampetra parva ct Jluvialilis, Rond., De Pise. Fluv. p. 202. 



Pciromyzon, Artel^i, Spec. Pise. p. 8g, No. i. 



Pctromyzon fluvialilis, Lin., S^'s. Nat. i. p. 394; Donovan, Brit. Fish. iii. pi. 54; Yarrell, ii. 



p. 604; SiEBOLD, Siisserwasscrf. p. 372; Gunther's Cat. viii. p. 502. 



Lesser Lamprey, Pennant, Brit. Zool. iii. p. 106, pi. ,x. fig. 2, ed. 1812. 



Lampern, Silver Lamprey, Couch, Fish. Brit. Isl. iv. p. 395-400, pi. 247, figs. 2 ii' 3. 



Petromyzon pricka, Lacep., i. p. 18. 



THE River Lamprey, or, to distinguish it from the Sea Lamprey, the Lampern, as it is 

 more generally called, is a much smaller species than that already described. It occurs 

 in the rivers and on the coasts of Europe, North America, and Japan, and has therefore a 

 very wide geographical distribution. In this country it is abundant in many of the rivers of 

 England, Scotland, and Ireland. It is probable that this species is not so generally migratory 

 in its habits as P. inarimis, and that it is sometimes, and perhaps frequently, a permanent 

 inhabitant of fresh water. Yarrell's opinion is that it generally remains all the year in fresh 

 water. "In the Thames," he says, "I am certain it is to be obtained every month in the 

 year." From enquiries I made at Worcester, Lampern fishing begins, in the Severn and 

 Teme, about the ist. of October, and lasts till February or March; the fish then disappear. 

 Lacepede states that the P. fluviatilis is an inhabitant rather of lakes than of rivers, that it 

 ascends the latter only when about to spawn, that is to say, in the spring. Couch is, I think, 

 correct when he says that some individuals have been found in the open sea, "to which it is 

 probable they do not proceed at all seasons, as if in regular migration, and where they do 

 not continue long." 



In Pennant's time Lamperns were found in the Thames, Severn, and Dee; they were potted 

 with the larger species, being preferred by some people to it, as being milder in flavour. He 

 states that vast quantities were taken about Mortlake and sold to the Dutch as bait for their 

 cod-fishing. "Above four hundred and fifty thousand have been sold in a season, at forty 

 shillings a thousand." Owing to the present impure condition of the Thames, the numbers 

 of these fish, I believe, have fallen off very considerably. The head-quarters for Lampern 

 fi.shing is on the Severn, near Worcester and Gloucester, where great numbers are caught 



