Northern brook lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor)

Scientific name: Ichthyomyzon fossor Reighard & Cummins, 1916

Northern brook lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor)

The Northern brook lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor) is a freshwater fish of the family Petromyzontidae.

Biology

Adults inhabit clean, clear gravel riffles and runs of small rivers. Ammocoetes occur in quiet water over sand, silt and debris. Non-parasitic, the adults and possibly the larger ammocoetes in the resting stage do not feed.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Ichthyomyzon fossor
Family
Petromyzontidae (Lampreys)
Order
Petromyzontiformes (Lampreys)
Class
Cephalaspidomorphi (Lampreys)
Maximum length
17.0
Common length
13.4
Environment
Freshwater; demersal
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
North America: St. Lawrence River, Quebec, west through Great Lakes and northern Mississippi River basin to Red River, south Manitoba; localized in Ohio River basin of northwest Pennsylvania, west Virginia, east Kentucky, north and south central Ohio and north Indiana; Missouri River basin.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Bait: occasionally
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=6; Fec=1,400)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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