European river lamprey
Encyclopedia
River Lamprey redirects here. See Lamprey River
for the river in New Hampshire
The European river lamprey, also known as the river lamprey or lampern, is a jawless
lamprey
, scientific name Lampetra fluviatilis. It is found in coastal waters around almost all of Europe from the north-west Mediterranean Sea
up to the lakes of Finland
, Scotland, Norway (Lake Mjosa), Wales
(Cors Caron
) and Russia, including rivers in the Alps
. It feeds as ectoparasites and parasites of fish. It has a reproduction cycle similar to that of salmon
. River lampreys belong to the same genus as brook lamprey and are thought to be very closely related. Current thinking suggests that European brook and river lampreys are a paired species, which means the river lamprey represents the anadromous (sea going) form of the resident brook lamprey. However, this is an area that is still being actively researched.
River lampreys migrate upstream from the sea to spawning grounds in autumn/winter. Spawning activity is greatest in the springtime (like brook lamprey) and river lamprey ammocoetes also spend several years in soft sediment before migrating to sea as adults. It is not currently known how long these animals spend in marine habitats before making the return trip to spawn.
Lamprey River
The Lamprey River is a 50.2 mile long river in southeastern New Hampshire, the United States. It rises in Meadow Lake in Northwood, and flows south, then generally east past Raymond, Epping, Lee and finally Newmarket...
for the river in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
The European river lamprey, also known as the river lamprey or lampern, is a jawless
Agnatha
Agnatha is a superclass of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata. The group excludes all vertebrates with jaws, known as gnathostomes....
lamprey
Lamprey
Lampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
, scientific name Lampetra fluviatilis. It is found in coastal waters around almost all of Europe from the north-west Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
up to the lakes of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Scotland, Norway (Lake Mjosa), Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(Cors Caron
Cors Caron
Cors Caron, also known as the Tregaron Bog, is a raised bog in Ceredigion, Wales which covers an area of approximately . Cors Caron represents the most intact surviving example of a raised bog landscape in the United Kingdom...
) and Russia, including rivers in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. It feeds as ectoparasites and parasites of fish. It has a reproduction cycle similar to that of salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
. River lampreys belong to the same genus as brook lamprey and are thought to be very closely related. Current thinking suggests that European brook and river lampreys are a paired species, which means the river lamprey represents the anadromous (sea going) form of the resident brook lamprey. However, this is an area that is still being actively researched.
River lampreys migrate upstream from the sea to spawning grounds in autumn/winter. Spawning activity is greatest in the springtime (like brook lamprey) and river lamprey ammocoetes also spend several years in soft sediment before migrating to sea as adults. It is not currently known how long these animals spend in marine habitats before making the return trip to spawn.