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Ohio lamprey | |
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Ohio lamprey. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Infraphylum: | Agnatha |
Class: | Hyperoartia |
Order: | Petromyzontiformes |
Family: | Petromyzontidae |
Genus: | Ichthyomyzon |
Species: | I. bdellium |
Binomial name | |
Ichthyomyzon bdellium (D. S. Jordan, 1885) | |
Synonyms [1] [2] | |
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The Ohio lamprey (Ichthyomyzon bdellium) is a lamprey found in the Ohio River drainage basin in the United States and is a parasitic species of lampreys. They are considered to be an endangered/rare species in some states, due to siltation, pollution, and construction of dams.
All lampreys have a long, almost eel-like, body with no scales. Lampreys have segments of muscles that are visible along their body called myomeres, and a jawless mouth. In larval lampreys, called ammocoetes, their mouth is not fully developed, very small, and hidden between folds of skin. Adults have a disk shaped mouth with varying amounts of teeth depending on the species. The Ohio lamprey has a single, continuous dorsal fin. Fully grown, Ohio lampreys reach 10-14 inches, but may get to 15 inches.
As ammocoetes, Ohio lamprey filter plankton, algae, and other small organic matter. As adults, they attach onto larger prey, such as smallmouth bass, walleyes, redhorse suckers and trout and feeding on blood and body fluids. Ohio lampreys do not appear to kill the host fish, as they evolved with other fishes in their range. As a result, they do not appear to have a significant effect on populations of their host fishes.
As a sexually mature adult, Ohio lamprey will seek out suitable breeding sites. They likely do not return to their natal site to spawn, but this remains untested. Spawning occurs in late May or early June, with adults working together or in pairs to create a pit in riffles of moderate currents. They use their suction cup-like mouth to move rocks from these riffles, and then the female lamprey deposits eggs into this pit after mating. All adults will die after spawning.
The Ohio lamprey is found throughout the Ohio River basin in 11 states: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Ohio lamprey used to be found in Illinois, but is now considered to be extirpated; the last sighting was in 1918.
The brook lamprey, also known as the European brook lamprey and the western brook lamprey is a small European lamprey species that exclusively inhabits freshwater environments. The species is related to, but distinct from, the North American western brook lamprey.
The Arctic lamprey, also known as the Japanese river lamprey or Japanese lampern, is a species of lamprey, a jawless fish in the order Petromyzontiformes. It inhabits coastal freshwater habitat types in the Arctic. Some populations are anadromous, spending part of their lives in the ocean. It is the most common and widespread lamprey in the Arctic region.
The pouched lamprey, also known as the piharau in the North Island, korokoro,kanakana in the South Island, or wide-mouthed lamprey, is a species in the genus Geotria, which is the only genus in the family Geotriidae. The second species in the genus is the Argentinian lamprey, which was revalidated as a separate species in 2020. The pouched lamprey is native to the southern hemisphere. It spends the early part of its life in fresh water, migrating to the sea as an adult, and returning to fresh water to spawn and die.
The Pacific lamprey is an anadromous parasitic lamprey from the Pacific Coast of North America and Asia in an area called the Pacific Rim. It is a member of the Petromyzontidae family. The Pacific lamprey is also known as the three-tooth lamprey and tridentate lamprey.
The European river lamprey, also known as the river lamprey or lampern, is a species of freshwater lamprey.
The western brook lamprey is a small (<18 cm), widely distributed, non-parasitic species of jawless fish endemic to the freshwater coastal waterways of the Western United States and Canada. Its range extends from the North American Pacific coast from Taku River, southern Alaska, Queen Charlotte Islands, to central California, including Vancouver Island, with major inland distributions in the Columbia and Sacramento-San Joaquin watersheds.
The chestnut lamprey is a species of lamprey.
Lethenteron appendix, the American brook lamprey, is a common non-parasitic lamprey in North America. In adults their disc-like mouths contain poorly developed teeth, useless for attaching to a host.
The silver lamprey is a lamprey commonly found in the Northern and Central United States, as well as a large part of southern Canada. Its binomial name means "sucking fish" in Greek and "one-pointed" in Latin. The silver lamprey is a member of the class Agnatha, sometimes referred to as cyclostomes (round-mouths). Other common names include: bloodsucker, blue lamprey, hitch-hiker, lamper, lamprey eel, northern lamprety. The silver lamprey should not be confused with the sea lamprey, which has caused considerable damage to native fish populations in the Great Lakes region.
The mountain brook lamprey or Allegheny brook lamprey is a lamprey found in parts of the Mississippi River basin, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and in the Cumberland River and Tennessee River. This fish is jawless with a small sucker mouth and a long, eel-like body. It is fairly small, only growing to about 8 inches (20 cm) in length.
The southern brook lamprey is a lamprey found in the Southern United States including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. It is a jawless fish with a sucking mouth on one end of it. It can appear to be a small eel, since it is rarely longer than one foot in length.
The northern brook lamprey is a freshwater fish in the family Petromyzontidae. It is closely related to the silver lamprey and may represent an ecotype of a single species with I. unicuspis.
Eudontomyzon danfordi, the Carpathian brook lamprey or Danube lamprey, is a species of lamprey in the family Petromyzontidae. It is found in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Unlike other brook lampreys, this fish is parasitic.
The lake lamprey, Entosphenus macrostomus, also known as the Vancouver lamprey or Cowichan lamprey, a recent derivative of the Pacific lamprey, is a species of freshwater lamprey endemic to two North American lakes: Lake Cowichan and Mesachie Lake in Vancouver Island, Canada. The lamprey was originally called the Vancouver Island lamprey, until an error in filing shortened it to the Vancouver lamprey. The alternate common name of "Cowichan lamprey" was coined and promoted by the species' describer, Dr. Dick Beamish, who originally identified the species in the 1980s.
The Caspian lamprey, Caspiomyzon wagneri, is a species of lamprey native to the Caspian Sea, and a member of the Petromyzontidae family. This species is a non-parasitic lamprey that feeds on animal carcasses.
The Ozark minnow is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis.
The least brook lamprey is a common, non-parasitic lamprey distributed in the Mississippi River watershed, and a limited range along the Atlantic coast.
The scarlet shiner is a freshwater fish native to the eastern United States.
The Tippecanoe darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the eastern United States.
Lampetra ayresii is a species of lamprey in the family Petromyzontidae. It is also called the river lamprey or western river lamprey. It is found in the eastern Pacific, specifically from Tee Harbor, Juneau in Alaska to the Sacramento–San Joaquin drainage in California, USA. It can survive in both marine surface waters and freshwater lakes, rivers, and creeks. In freshwater, it is found typically in the lower portions of large river systems. It is a predatory fish and feeds on fishes in the size range of 10–30 cm. It feeds by attaching to prey using its round, sucker-like mouth. Adult western river lampreys typically grow to about 21 cm (8.3 in) total length (TL), but can reach 31 cm (12 in) TL.