THE LANCE LET. 569 



The Lancelot (Lansett-Fisk, i. e. lancet-fish, Sw. ; 

 Lancetclanned Trcevlemimd, i. e. lancet-formed fibre- 

 mouth, Dan. ; Sranchiostoma lubricuni, Costa ; Amphioxus 

 lanceolalus, Yarr.), which was first noticed in 1774 by 

 Pallas, who looked on it as a worm, and as such classed 

 it under the name of Lumbricus lanceolatus, is not so very 

 uncommon in the Boh us Skiirgard and the Cattegat, 

 though elsewhere in the Scandinavian seas it has not, I 

 believe, been hitherto identified. To judge by YarrelFs 

 figure, which he says is of life size, it must be fully three 

 inches long ; but Kroyer seems to think that on the 

 Jutland coast at least it does not attain to more than two. 

 It dwells on a sandy bottom, but in a depth of water 

 which varies considerably, being at times found in ten to 

 twelve fathoms, and at others near the shore. It is said 

 that if this fish be placed in a tub of salt-water, with sand 

 at the bottom, it will either lie still for hours together, as 

 if dead, or it will so embed itself in the sand that only 

 the upper part of its body remains visible ; if disturbed, 

 it becomes lively, and casts itself hither and thither, or it 

 swims about the tub with a worm-like lateral motion. 

 Its food is believed to consist of microscopic animals. 

 Little or nothing is known to Northern naturalists 

 respecting the habits of this very singular little fish. 



