448 



PETROMYZID^. 



CHONDROPTERYGIL 



PETROMYZID^.* 



THE LAMPREY. 



Petromyzo7i marinus, Linn^us. Bloch, pt. iii. pi. 77. 



„ ,, La Grande Lamproye, Cuvier, Regne An. t. ii. p. 404. 



Lampetra Rondeletii, Willughby, p. 105, G. 2, f. 2. 



Petromyzon marinus, Sea Lamprey, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 102, pi. 10. 



,, ,, Spotted Lamprey, Don. Brit. Fish. pi. 81. 



,, ,, Lamprey, Flem. Brit. An. p. 163, sp, 1. 



„ „ Sea Lamprey, Jenyns, Man. Brit. Vert. p. 520, sp. 209. 



Generic Characters. — Body smooth, elongated, cylindrical, like that of an 

 Eel ; the head rounded ; the mouth circular, armed with hard tooth-like pro- 

 cesses ; the lip forming a continuous circle round the mouth ; seven apertures 

 on each side of the neck, leading to seven branchial cells ; no pectoral or ven- 

 tral fins ; the skin towards the tail extending in a fold from the body both above 

 and below, forms dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. 



The last family of the cartilaginous or chondropterygian 

 fishes contains the Lampreys, and some cylindrical fishes 

 very closely allied to them. These fishes are, in reference to 

 their skeleton, and in some other respects, the lowest in 

 the scale of organization among vertebrated animals. The 

 form and peculiarities of the mouth will be best understood 



* The family of the Lampreys. 



