EXISTING GROUP. 



327 



while there are a pair of similar teeth in the lower jaw, carrying only six ridges 

 each. In the living species the teeth of opposite sides are separated by an interval ; 

 but in the fossil forms they were in contact, and had fewer ridges. The existing 

 Australian lung -fishes, of which two species have been described, are said to 

 attain a weight of 20 Ibs., and a length of upwards of 6 feet. The body is 

 elongated and much compressed, with very large scales ; the paddle-shaped limbs 

 have very broad fringes ; and the flesh is salmon-coloured. From the occurrence 

 of masses of leaves in its stomach it is evident that the Australian lung-fish crops 

 the vegetation with its great teeth ; but it is believed that the most important part 

 of its food consists of the small creatures living on and between the leaves of the 



AUSTRALIAN LUNG-FISH (} nat. size). 



various water-plants. The stories of the fish coming out of the water to the land 

 seem quite unfounded, as are those that it lies dormant during part of the year in 

 cocoons. The female lays her rather large eggs loosely and singly among the 

 vegetation, and in the embryo the fore-limbs make their appearance in about a 

 fortnight, but the hinder-pair not before two and a half months. In the course of 

 its development this fish presents marked resemblances to the Amphibians, and also 

 to the lampreys ; but it is noteworthy that there is no trace of a sucking mouth, 

 or of external gills. As might have been inferred from the study of allied extinct 

 forms, the large palatal teeth are formed by the fusion of a number of separate 

 small teeth. According to Dr. Semon, the Australian lung-fish is confined to the 

 middle portion of the Burnett and Mary Rivers of Queensland. Living among the 



