221 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



On the Chilian "Anguilla." By Dr. R. A. Philippi. 



Dr. Philtppi has succeeded in obtaining a specimen of the fish 

 known under the name of "Anguilla" in Chili : it is a new species 

 of Lamprey, which the author describes under the name of 



Petromyzon acutidens. 



It is much darker than the three other Chilian freshwater Lam- 

 preys ; above and on the sides blackish grey, with a violet and rusty- 

 brown lustre, the latter especially on the tail. Each branchial ori- 

 fice stands in the middle of a whitish spot. The ventral surface is 

 grey, yellowish beneath the branchial orifices. The caudal fins are 

 blackish grey ; the two dorsal fins rather light grey. Seen from the 

 side, the muzzle appears rather acute, the mouth being almost in a 

 line with the belly ; its hinder end projects somewhat, and is sepa- 

 rated from the gular region by a transverse fissure, nearly 3 lines 

 broad, which leads into a sort of shallow pouch. This does not form 

 a sac, as in Petromyzon ? Anwandteri and Velasia chilensis, but is 

 somewhat inflated. The total length is 14 inches ; the depth at the 

 last branchial orifice is 9 lines, at the first dorsal ~ 4 \ lines, and at the 

 anus 5 lines. The eye is 12 lines from the apex of the muzzle, and 

 2 lines in diameter ; the orifice of the mouth is 11^ lines long ; the 

 first branchial orifice is 19 lines from the tip of the snout, and the 

 last nearly 3 inches. The first dorsal commences 7 inches from the 

 tip of the snout, and is 13-14 lines in length and 2h lines in height. 

 The second dorsal is of the same height, but more than 2 inches 

 long ; the interval between them is 1^ inch. The caudal fin is 

 acutely rhomboidal ; its dorsal margin is 1£ inch long; its ventral 

 portion runs, gradually diminishing, nearly to the anus, which is 

 2 inches 4 lines from the extremity of the tail. 



On each side of the head there are three rows of mucus-glands : 

 one runs fromthe snout towards the lower margin of the eye, but with- 

 out attaining the latter; the second forms an oblique line close to the 

 anteroinferior margin of the eye ; and the third commences below 

 the first, halfway between the apex of the snout and the eye, and is 

 continued to the throat, where it terminates between the hinder 

 margin of the mouth and the first branchial orifice. 



The mouth forms an ellipse, or, when fully extended, a broad 

 oval, and has double lips, the outer grey, with a row of small warts, 

 the inner white, short, and entire at the margin. The teeth are 

 remarkably acute. In front of the two inner lingual teeth there 

 stands a transverse row of eight teeth ; on the palate there are two 

 groups, each consisting of three acute teeth ; and, lastly, there are 

 about four concentric series of acute denticles, gradually diminishing 

 in size from the gullet to the margin of the lips. 



In the two groups of three teeth, and the lips destitute of fringes, 

 the species resembles P.I Anwandteri, which, however, has a row of 

 large teeth in the external circumference of the mouth, and is further 



