Lamprey
the genus Petromyzon.
There are two dorsal fins, both far back on the body. The sea, or spotted lamprey, P. marinus, is an eel-like fish, nearly three feet long, greenish-brown, marbled with darker brown and green on the back and sides. It attaches itself to rocks, boats, and to other fishes, by the mouth, exhausting the air. It is found in the United States, in England, and Africa. The fringe-lipped lamprey (P. branchialis) is called also the SAND- PIPER (q. v.), the river lamprey, and the lampern. Lampreys, the family Petromyzontidæ, consists of eel-like fishes, with a naked skin and undergoing a metamorphosis. Their larval form was taken for a distinct fish, and was called ammocætes.