Arctic Lamprey: Lethenteron camtschaticum (Tilesius, 1811)
The most abundant and widely distributed arctic lamprey
Size
- To 63 cm, typically under 36 cm
Color & Characteristics
- Tongue teeth well developed, pointed, sharp. Posterial teeth present
- Supplementary marginal teeth absent from lateral areas of oral disk
- Dark blotch on 2nd dorsal fin and on tail
Habitat
- Arctic-boreal
- Freshwater resident or anadromous
- Pelagic at sea over continental shelf to bottom depth of 50 m (map shows marine distribution only)
- Not present in western Atlantic
Feeding
- Ammocoetes (blind larvae) filter-feed on microorganisms and fine debris
- Adults of anadromous populations are parasitic, feeding on blood and flesh of fishes, whales, and sharks
Life cycle
- Adults spawn in gravel riffles and runs of clear streams
- Eggs hatch into ammocoetes, which mature in muddy margins and backwaters of rivers and lakes
- Ammocoetes transform into adults after 4 or 5 years
- Adults of anadromous populations migrate to feed at sea before returning to streams to spawn
Page Author: CW Mecklenburg & TA Mecklenburg
Updated: Feb 8, 2011
