Natural History of Birds, Fish, Insects, and Reptiles (Volume 4)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1798. Excerpt: ... THE LAMPREY. THIS fifh is of a lighter colour and clumficr make than the eel, which, however, it much refembles in its general appearance: but its mouth has a greater likenefs to that of a leech than an eel, it being round, and placed rather obliquely below the end of the nofe. The animal has alfo a hole on the top of the head, through which it sfpouts water like the cetaceous tribe. On each fide are feven holes for refpiration; and the fins are formed rather by a lengthening out of the fkin, than any fet of bones or fpines for that purpofe. Naturalifts diftinguifh between the lampein and the lamprey, the former is faid to have a fingle row of little teeth in the verge of its mouth, befides the lower large ones. It grows to about a foot and a half, though moft of thofe ufually caught are under that ftandard.--The latter has about twenty rows of teeth, andgrowS to two feet and a half, or more in length. L 2 Muralto, Muralto, in his'very minute defcription of this animal, makes not any mention of lungs: --yet from fome peculiarity in its formation, the lamprey generally fwims as near as poflible to the furface; and it might be eafily drowned by being forcibly kept under water for aconfiderable time. The abfolute neceflity it is under of breathing in the air, muft convince the attentive obferver that it really has lungs and it is very probable that two red glands tilfued with nerves, (defcribed by Muralto as lying towards the back of the head) are no other than the lungs of the animal. The lamprey ufually leaves the fea the beginning of fpring, in order to fpawn, and after a ftay of a few months, it returns again to the fea. The fpecies known among us is differently eftimated according to the feafon in which it is caught, or the place where it has been fed. T...