Petromyzon marinus
FAMILY
Petromyzonidae
TAXONOMY
Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Eel sucker, Green sea lamprey, lamprey eel; French: Lamproie marine; German: Große lamprete; Spanish: Lamprea de mar.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Total length 47.2 in (120 cm). Eel-like, scaleless, lack jaws, have funnel-like mouths and cartilaginous skeletons. Body grayish brown in color. Gonad in both sexes is unpaired and median, and is suspended from the dorsal wall of the body cavity by a mesentery containing connective tissue.
DISTRIBUTION
Coastal waters on both sides of the North Atlantic, the western Mediterranean, also fresh waters of the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America: landlocked in the Great Lakes of North America.
HABITAT
Immature fishes can be found in the mouths of freshwater streams of eastern North America, Northern Europe, and
western regions of the Mediterranean. Mature fishes live in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
BEHAVIOR
Anadromous; returns to fresh waters to reproduce, during which time it carries out spawning behaviors, including nest building and fanning behavior.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Larvae feed on microscopic plankton, algae, and detritus filtered from mud. During the parasitic phase, adult attaches to a host fish and extracts blood and/or muscle tissue. Does not feed after migrating upstream to spawn in fresh water.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Female releases approximately 200,000 eggs, which are fertilized by released sperm from the male. The adults die shortly after spawning.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN. Considered a critical species in their natural ecosystems and efforts are being made by state and federal agencies to maintain or increase populations there. In the Great Lakes, where the species has been introduced, authorities are working to control their populations because of their detrimental impact on native fishes.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Very destructive to fish populations in the Great Lakes Region and Lake Champlain. During the parasitic phase, feeds on other fishes with its suctorial mouth, extracting body fluids and often causing high mortalities.
