the Lamprey, a genus of fishes belonging to the class of amphibia nantes. It has seven spiracula at the side of the neck, no gills, a fissula on the top of the head, and no breast or belly fins. There are three species, distinguished by peculiarities in their back-fins. There are three species.

1. The marinus, or sea-lamprey, is sometimes found so large as to weigh four or five pounds. The mouth is round, and placed rather obliquely below the end of the nose: the edges are jagged, which enables them to adhere the more strongly to the stones, as their custom is, and which they do so firmly as not to be drawn off without some difficulty. Mr Pennant mentions one weighing three pounds, which was taken out of the Eski, adhering to a stone of 12 pounds weight, suspended at its mouth, from which it was forced with no small pains. There are in the mouth 20 rows of small teeth, disposed in circular orders, and placed far within. The colour is dusky, irregularly marked with dirty yellow, which gives the fish a disagreeable look.

Lampreys are found at certain seasons of the year in several of our rivers, but the Severn is the most noted for them. They are sea-fish; but, like salmon, quit the salt waters, and ascend the latter end of the winter, or beginning of spring, and after a stay of a few months return again to the ocean, a very few excepted. The best season for them is in the months of March, April, and May; for they are more firm when just arrived out of the salt water than they are afterwards, being observed to be much wanted, and very flabby at the approach of hot weather. They are taken in nets along with salmon and shad, and sometimes in weirs laid in the bottom of the river. It has been an old custom for the city of Gloucester, annually, to present his majesty with a lamprey pie, covered with a large raised crust. As the gift is made at Christmas, it is with great difficulty the corporation can procure any fresh lampreys at that time, though they give a guinea a-piece for them; so early in the season. They are reckoned a great delicacy, either when potted or stewed; but are a surfeiting food, as one of our monarchs fatally experienced, Henry I.'s death being occasioned by a too plentiful meal of these fish. It appears, that, notwithstanding this accident, they continued in high esteem; for Henry IV. granted protections to such ships as brought over lam- preys for the table of his royal consort.

Mr Pennant is of opinion, that the ancients were un- acquainted with this fish; at least, he says, it is cer- tain, that which Dr Arbuthnot and other learned men render the word lamprey, is a species unknown in our seas, being the murana of Ovid, Pliny, and others, for which we want an English name. This fish, the lupus (our bass), and the myxo (a species of mullet), formed that pride of Roman banquets, the tripatinum, so called, according to Arbuthnot, from their being served up in a machine with three bottoms. The words lampetra and petromyzon are but of mo- dern date, invented from the nature of the fish; the first à lambendo petras, the other from ἀπειρος and πυρας, because they are supposed to lick or suck the rocks.

2. The fluviatilis, or lesser lamprey, sometimes grows to the length of 10 inches. The mouth is formed like that of the preceding. On the upper part is a large bi- furcated tooth: on each side are three rows of very minute ones: on the lower part are seven teeth, the exterior of which on one side is the largest. The irides are yellow. As in all the other species, between the eyes, on the top of the head, is a small orifice of great use to clear its mouth of the water that remains on adhering to the stones, for through that orifice it ejects the water in the same manner as cetaceous fish. On the lower part of the back is a narrow fin, beneath that rises another, which at the beginning is high and angular, then grows narrow, surrounds the tail, and ends near the anus. The colour of the back is brown or dusky, and some- times mixed with blue; the whole under-side silvery. These are found in the Thames, Severn, and Dee, are potted with the larger kind, and are by some preferred to it, as being milder tasted. Vast quantities are taken about Mortlake, and sold to the Dutch for bait for their cod-fishery. Above 430,000 have been sold in a season at 40s. per 1000. Of late, about 100,000 have been sent to Harwich for the same purpose. It is said that the Dutch have the secret of preserving them till the turbot fishery.

3. The bronchialis, or lampern, is sometimes found of the length of eight inches, and about the thickness of a swan's quill; but they are generally much smaller. The body is marked with numbers of transverse lines, that pass across the sides from the back to the bottom of the belly, which is divided from the mouth to the anus by a strait line. The back fin is not angular like that of the former, but of an equal breadth. The tail is lanceolate, and short at the end. They are frequent in the rivers near Oxford, particularly the Isis; but not peculiar to that county, being found in others of the English rivers, where, instead of concealing themselves under the stones, they lodge themselves in the mud, and never are observed to adhere to any thing like other lampreys.