OCR Text |
Show 296 PISCES. 1 t d .The anterior part of the head is trun. T and fine y serra e · a rygon 1 . tead of clasping it have each of their an. d d the pectora s ms . . . cteartieo r' eaxn trem.i ti. es exten d e d into a salient pomt, which gives the fish e of having horns. the appAe araignacn tt. c speci. es . ccasionally captured in the Mediterra. IS o . . g h R ·a cephalo'Yltera, Schn.; Rm,e gwrna, Lacep. V, u, nean, t e az r . h . 1 t 3,(1) w1. th a bl ac k back bordered Wlt VlO e . FAMILY II. SUCTORII.-CYCLOSTOMI, Dumer., S .. egards the skeleton, are the most imper· The uctorn,das r of all vertebrate animals. They have feet of fishes, an even b d · · ne.i ther pectora1 s nor ventrals.' their elongatedr o y dIS hte rmi· nated before by a circular or semicircular fleshy Ip, an t .ecar· . . . hich supports it results from the soldermg of tilagmou~ rmg wh d'bularies The bodies of all the ver· the palatmes to t e man I • fill d 'th tebrre are traverse d b y a single tendinou.s cord h' he WdI ceas mucila . nous substance without strangulatiOns, w IC r~ ~ them ;'the condition of cartilagin?us rin?s, scarcely~:: from each other. The annular portion, a httle mor~ so~ I of the rest is not however cartilaginous throughout t e wll obe its circl'e . They have no ord m' ary ri'b. s •' b. ut the smau ali raannd· chial ones, which are hardly percepttbl~ In t?t~ S!h other Rays, are here greatly developed and umted WI r; branchi~ forming a kind of cage; while there a~e no sot;nated as in arches The branchire, instead of being pee h . ti'on all oth· er fishes, resemble purses, resu1 t m· g f r om t e. JUne . h· of one face of a branch.i a W.i th t h e oppos·m g one of It.s ne1agn d hour. The labyrinth of the ear is enclosed by .the cr.amufm, t of the nostrils open externa1 1 Y b Y a s·m gl e orifice ' m ron ( . . t roba.bly a mutilated indi· 1) The Raie fiabronienne, Lacep., II, v, 1, 2, IS mos P · Pl'lad appears to vidual of the giorna, but the R. gu· rrna, Lesueur, A c. Nat. eS tch. e Mllo bul.a, r, Duham., differ from that of the Mediterranean, and may rather b 11 v 3·-fltana· second part, Sect. IX, pl. 17. As to t h e R . ba n ksienne ' Lacepf.i' rtu' na't el'y reston tia, Id., I, vii, 2;-Diabolus marinus, Will., App. IX, 3; th~y un ° iS·-Eregoodrt; no authentic foundation. Add the Cepltalopte-ra massena, Rlss., P· ' tenlcee, Russ., I, 9. CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS FIXIS. 297 which is a blind cavity.(!) The intestinal canal is straight and thin, with a spiral valve. PETROMYZoN, Lin.(2) The Lampreys have seven branchial openings on each side; the skin of the tail above and beneath is turned up into a longitudinal crest which supplies the place of a fin, but in which the rays resemble scarcely visible fibres. PETROMYzoN, Dumer. The maxillary ring of the True Lamprey is armed with strong teeth, and the interior disk of the lip, which is very circular, is furnished with tubercles covered with an extremely hard shell, and similar to teeth. This ring is suspended under a transverse plate which appears to supply the want of intermaxillaries, and on the sides of which vestiges of maxillaries may be observed. There are two longitudinal rows of small teeth on the tongue, which moves backwards and forwards like a piston; by this, that suction is produced which distinguishes this animal. Water reaches the branchice from the mouth by a particular membranous canal, placed under the resophagus and perforated with holes, that may be compared to a trachea. There is a dorsal before the anus and another behind it, which. unites with that of the tail. These fishes habitually fix themselves by suction to stones and other solid bodies; they attack the largest fishes in the same way, and are finally enabled to pierce and devour them. P. marinus, L.; Bl., 77; the teeth better in Lacep. I, i, 2. (The Sea-Lamprey.) Two or three feet in length, marbled with brown on a yellowish ground; first dorsal very distinct from the second; two large approximated teeth on the upper part of the maxillary ring. It ascends the mouths of rivers in the spring, and is highly esteemed. P. jluvialis, L.; Pricka; Sept-Oeil, &c.; BI., 78, 1. (The River Lamprey.) From a foot to eighteen inches in length; sil- (1) Improperly styled a spiracle. With respect to this family in general, see Dumeril, Diss. sur les Poiss., Cyclostomes. (2) Lamproye, Lampreda, Lamprey, corruptions of Lampetra, which is itself modern, and, according to some, derived from Lambendo, petras. Petromyzon is the Greek translation of the same, by Artedi. It is somewhat singular that so much uncertainty should envelope the ancient name of a fish so much esteemed, and so common in the Mediterranean. VoL. II.-2 N \ |