55 2 LOWEST VERTEBRATES. 



municate with the pharynx by a common opening to which the ducts of all con- 

 verge. The intestine is furnished with a spiral valve, and the eggs are minute. 



The true lampreys are characterised in the adult condition by having two 

 dorsal fins, the hindmost of which is continuous with the caudal; and likewise by 

 the upper series of oral teeth consisting either of a doubly -cusped transverse ridge, 

 or of two closely-placed separate teeth ; while the teeth on the tongue are serrated. 

 The genus appears to be represented by four species, which are confined to the 

 coasts and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere, ranging as far south as West 

 Africa. The largest of these is the sea-lamprey, represented in the upper figure of 

 our illustration, which may grow to as much as a yard in length, and is common to 

 Europe, North America, and West Africa. On the other hand, the river-lamprey, 

 or lampern, which at certain seasons ascends the rivers of Europe, North America, 

 and Japan in innumerable hosts, is somewhat less than two feet in length, and differs 

 from the last species in being uniformly coloured, instead of marbled with black. 

 Still smaller is the small lamprey, also known as the pride or sand-piper, which is 

 likewise common to Europe and Western North America, and scarcely reaches one 

 foot in length ; its coloration being uniform. The young of this form was long 

 regarded as a distinct genus, under the name of Amrnocoetes ; but its true nature 

 was discovered by watching the transformation into the adult. The larva, writes 

 Dr. Gtinther, requires three or four years for its full development. At first the 

 head is very small, and the cavity of the mouth " surrounded by a semicircular 

 upper lip, the separate lower lip being very small. There are no teeth, but several 

 fringed barbels surround the mouth. The extremely small eyes are hidden in a 

 shallow grove ; but there is a median single nasal opening, and seven gill-openings, 

 as in the adult. The vertical fins form a continuous fringe, in which the later 

 divisions are more or less distinctly indicated." When open, the mouth of lampreys 

 is nearly circular in shape, but when closed forms a narrow slit. 



Much has still to be learned regarding the habits of lampreys, but it appears 

 that all the members of the present genus ascend rivers for the purpose of spawn- 

 ing, and that some of them pass the whole of their larval conditions in fresh waters. 

 They are all carnivorous, and in the adult state attach themselves by their mouths 

 to the bodies of fishes, from which they rasp off the flesh with their horny teeth ; 

 fish being not unfrequently met witli bearing the scars of wounds thus inflicted, 

 and a salmon has been taken high up in the Rhone with a sea-lamprey tightly 

 adhering to its side. Bathers have also been known to be attacked by the same 

 species. Commonly keeping to the bottom, the sea-lamprey may at times be seen 

 swimming near the surface with a serpentine movement of the body. In the 

 Severn the capture of this species lasts from Februarj' to May, while in the Thames 

 the season is May and June ; but in the Scottish rivers the lampreys do not ascend 

 till the end of June, remaining till the beginning of August. During the spawn- 

 ing-season these fishes excavate furrows in the river-bottoms for the reception of 

 their eggs, and are said to remove impeding stones by lifting them up with their 

 sucking-mouths. Being much exhausted by the function of spawning, at its con- 

 clusion they make their way with all speed to the sea. The river-lamprey was 

 at one time thought to be a permanent inhabitant of fresh waters, but it has been 

 taken in the sea, and it has even been considered that it may undergo its meta- 



