172 FISHES AND FISHING. 



the river Gambia, in Africa, Lapidosiren annecteus, 

 which is the one that has reached Europe, a living 

 specimen of which was at the Crystal Palace. Perfect 

 unanimity does not prevail amongst naturalists as to 

 whether this animal should be classed with reptiles, 

 or fishes. Professor Owen includes it with the latter. 

 Those of the river Gambia, which do not retire with 

 the overflowing waters, burrow in the mud, which is 

 soon baked hard by the scorching sun ; there they 

 remain, in a torpid state, until the return of the 

 rainy season again awakes them to activity (Patter- 

 son's *' Introduction to Zoology.") 



In Dr. W. B. Carpenter's ^'Zoology," it is stated that 

 this animal from the river Gambia is about a foot long, 

 but those from the large rivers of South America are 

 from two to three feet in length. It was discovered, 

 1837, in South America, in the river Amazon. Some 

 zoologists place this animal in the class of Ichthyoidal 

 reptiles, whilst others place it with the Anguilliform 

 fishes. M. I^atterer places the lepidosiren by the 

 side of the group of sirens, the class of amphibious 

 reptiles ; Professor Owen makes it a group of the 

 class of fishes ; Desmarest thinks its proper place is 

 near the Caeciliadse, in the division of amphibious 

 reptiles, and that it thus forms the transition between 

 tlie class of reptiles and that of fishes. See Lepidosiren, 

 in D'Orbigny's ''Diet. d'Hist. Kat.," by E. Desmarest. 



