Lamprey (Eight-eyed eel) - Lamprey (English spelling)

Japanese: ヤツメウナギ(八目鰻) - ヤツメウナギ（英語表記）lamprey

A general term for marine fish of the Petromyzonidae family of the order Petromyzonini in the class Gnathonidae, or another name for the river lamprey. Although it has the name eel, there is no relation to it. Its body is eel-shaped, and it has seven pairs of round external gill slits behind the eyes, giving the appearance of a total of eight pairs of eyes lined up, hence the name. There are five species of lamprey in the waters off Japan. Of these, the river lamprey Lampetra japonica (illustration), commonly known as the lamprey, is found on the Sea of Japan side, with its southern limit being Shimane Prefecture, and on the Pacific side, Ibaraki Prefecture, and as far north as Sakhalin.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

無顎綱ヤツメウナギ目ヤツメウナギ科Petromyzonidaeの海産魚の総称またはカワヤツメの異名。ウナギの名がつくが関係はない。体がウナギ型で，眼の後方に7対の丸い外鰓孔（がいさいこう）があるので，合計8対の眼が並んでいるように見えるのでこの名がある。日本近海にはヤツメウナギ属は5種分布する。このうちカワヤツメLampetra japonica（イラスト）は一般にヤツメウナギと呼ばれ，日本海側は島根県，太平洋側は茨城県を南限とし，北はサハリンまで分布する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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