118S 



SCANIJINAVIAN FISHES. 



Bur th« Sea Lamprey alsu roves into fresh water on its 

 own account, when it makes its way, early in tlie year 

 or at latest in early summer (Feb. — June), to the spawn- 

 ing, which is performed during summer. On these ex- 

 cursions, liowever, the Sea Lamju'ey i)roves to be no 

 very powerful swimmer, ca])able of stemming the cur- 

 rent with ease; "but, when the stream is so strong that 

 the Lam]ii-ey lias difticult\- in surmounting it, the tish 

 plunges ipuckly forwards and hastily attaches itself to 

 some fixed object, tlicn awaiting an op|)ortunity for a 

 new plunge" (Yahhell a.nd Kroyer). Consequently it 

 does not ])enetrate far up the stream in rapid rivers; 

 but in tlie Gotha l-">lf it goes at least to Lilla Edet 

 (Lloyd" and ]\Iai..m'); in the Kjeflinge River (Scania) it 

 ascends at least a ("on pie of leagues from the sea (Nils- 

 son); and in the River Helge it was taken by Schager- 

 sTRo.M at Kristianstad (Lill.ieijorg). In Germany it is 

 found still farther iidand, in tlie Riiine to Basel, in the 

 Elbe up to Bohemia (Beneckk). In the Loire it has 

 been met with above Orleans, in the Rhone and Isere 

 beyond the frontier of Savoy (Bi.anchard). 



The spawning of the Sea Lampre}' was observed 

 by Paxizza' at Pavia on the River Po; and Baetlett 

 wrote to Storeu (1. c.) of its breeding operations in 

 Massachusetts, "They ascend the rivers a little earlier 

 tlian the shad, and move mostly in the night. It is not 

 known by the fishermen when they return, as they are 

 never seen. There is a notion tliat they all die. They 

 are often seen in the summer in pairs at work together, 

 constructing a little mound of stones. They build this 

 about three feet in diameter at the base, and about two 

 feet high, of stones from the size of an ounce bullet to 

 that of the fish. They often aid each other in carrying 



the same stone. This is j»retty evidently a lalxir of /ore, as 

 they co])iilate once in five minutes, or so, during tiie whole 

 time. The young go down the river when the water be- 

 gins to freeze. They are from six to eight inches long". 

 But to take the above words of Bartlett to imply that the 

 metamorphosis from the Ammora'tesstagt takes place with- 

 in the first yeai', would, no doul)t, be too hasty. Strange 

 to say, no observations are recorded in Europe either of 

 the develojnuent of the Sea Lampre}' in its earliest stages. 



The Sea Lamprey is a palatable disli, if skilfully 

 prepared, when caught in spring and before it is ripe 

 for spawning. In former times it was offered as a 

 Christmas gift by the city of Gloucester to the sovereign 

 of the realm. It may be stewed like Burbot, or mari- 

 naded for preserving. Day gives the advice, however, 

 to remove the notochord before boiling, as being too 

 indigestible. Many consider the whole fish uneatable. 

 In many |)laces it is related that the Sea Lamprey is 

 far rarer now than it was formerly. The once famous 

 fishery of the Severn lias decayed so greatly that, ac- 

 cording to Day, the usual price of a Sea Lamprey there 

 is now ha-lf-a-crown. In France the Sea Lamprey was 

 protected, together with the Salmon and Shad, in the 

 piscatorial laws of ancient times, by fishing prohibi- 

 tions luider certain circumstances, and the trade was 

 strictly regulated. At the i)resent day, says Blax- 

 CHARD, it is, if not exactly rare, so uncommon that 

 no great attention is paid to it. In Scandinavia this 

 fishery has never possessed any importance. 



All the Lampreys are tenacious of life, and this 

 adapts them eminently for use as bait. The Sea Lam- 

 prey, however, can seldom serve the Scandinavian fisher- 

 man for this purpose. 



THE LAMPERN OR RIVER LAMPREY (s\v. nattingen). 

 PETHOM YZOX FLr VI ATI IdS. 



Plate LIII, Has. 2 — 4. 



Anterior liHi/uodenfal plate ereiilij (Uid sHi/htlij curved, trith the conre.rif/j in front. Anterior denttd plate of the 

 month semilnnurli/ car red and .to lonr/ (in the transverse direction of the hodtj) that tlie elevated, dentiform ends 

 are distincth/ separated from one another'^. Length of the oral disk in adult specimens less than half that of the 



head to the first ffill-openinfj. 



'Si/ii. Lamproije il'eaii doulce + Lamproi/on, Belon, Nat., Divers. 

 Poi.ss., p. 67. Lampetra parva et fiuviatilix. Rondel., Pise. 



147. 



_/?««., p. 202. Mustela + Alterum ijuniis LantprediK, (iESN., 

 De. Aqiint., pp. 595 et 597. Lampetra Jiiiviatiiis, Willughe., 



•Scandinav. Advent., vol. I, p. 



M.1LM also cites a newspaper paragraph which seems to indicate that the Se.i Lninprey sometimes passes the locks at TroUhJittan into Lake Wener. 



Mem. Istit. Lomb. Sc, Art., Milano, vol. II (1845), p. 25. 



= Genus Lampetra, <tR.\y, List Spec. Fish.. Brit. ,1/«.9., part. 1. Cliondrnj,!., p. 140. 



