LEPIDOSIREN. 577 
These capsules, with the surrounding earth, have often been transported 
from Africa to Northern Europe, without injury to the dormant fish 
within, The fish makes .a nest which is guarded by the male. The 
larvze have four pairs of external gills, and a crescentic sucker like that 
of an Amphibian tadpole. 
Fic. 311.—Larva of Lepidostren.—After Graham Kerr. 
Lepidosiren.—This mud-fish from the Amazons has an 
eel-shaped body, with a continuous vertical fin. The limbs 
are reduced to the axis only. There is a well-developed 
septum in the auricle, an all but complete septum in the 
ventricle, and a complete septum in the conus. The lung 
is double. The eggs are laid in burrows, and the male 
remains curled up beside them. The young are hatched 
with external gills. 
