Nonnative: Lamprey

Lamprey - Petromyzon marinus

Description: Eel-like bodies are cartilaginous, with no jaws, scales or paired fins, two dorsal fins, sac-like gills with prominent openings.  These are among the earliest fish (280 million years in archaeological records) and are parasitic using a sucking-disk shaped mouth with rasping teeth that wear a hole in the flesh of its victim.

Species: 6 genera, 41 species

Range: Temperate waters of the world.

Habitat: Varies greatly with species.

Spawning Habitats: Lay eggs in redds (nests) built on rocky sediments.  Eggs hatch as ammocoetes (a free-floating larval form that soon settles and burrows into the bottom) that later metamorphose into the adult form.  Females die after laying their eggs.

Feeding Habits: Use the sucker shaped mouth to attach to the prey and then use rasping teeth to bore through the skin and an anticoagulant to allow them to feed on body fluids.

Age and Growth: Some species up to four feet.

Potential Concerns: Created major environmental problems when canal construction allowed them to enter the great lakes.  Occasionally cling to swimmers.  The entire family Petromyzonidae is prohibited.

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