MITCHILL ON THE FISHES OF NEW-YORK. 461 



Order, cartilaginous. 



PETROMYZON. LAMPREY. 



Generic character. 



Body eel-shaped. Mouth beneath, with numerous teeth in circular 

 rows. Spiracles seven on each side of the neck. 



Great Lamprey. (Petromyzon marinus.) With brown and olive va- 

 riegations, with fins some orange and reddish, and a bluish tail. 



Two feet and a half long. Is caught in the salt water. 



On dissecting the gullet, heart, and respiratory organs of a large one, 

 on the 9th April, 1814, they were found to correspond almost exactly 

 with the anatomical descriptions of Bloch and Shaw ; and the external 

 characters are so alike, that the variations are too inconsiderable for 

 notice. 



ACIFENSER. STURGEON. 



Generic character* 



Snout bearded beneath. Mouth beneath the head, ovate, toothless, 

 retractile. Body elongated, mailed above by scaly tubercles. 



1. Round-nosed Sturgeon. (Acipenser sturio.) Gray scale-shielded 

 sturgeon, whitish, and often reddish beneath, a five-fold apparatus of 

 scales, and a blunt snout. 



Has a roundish and elongated snout with four cirrhi. There are five 

 rows of scales, making the body a sort of pentagon. Two lateral fins 



