Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758

Sea lamprey

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Cephalaspidomorphi \| Petromyzontiformes \| Petromyzontidae \| Petromyzontinae
Synonyms	Lampetra marina, Ammocoetes bicolor, Oceanomyzon wilsoni, ... more
Common names	Lamproie marine, Lamprea marina, Great sea lamprey, ... more

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Image of Petromyzon marinus (Sea lamprey)

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AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Hardisty, M.W. 1986. (Ref. 12324)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 120 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5723); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4645); max. published weight: 2,500 g (Ref. 5504); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 12193)

Environment

Demersal; anadromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 1 - 2200 m (Ref. 58185)

Climate / Range

Temperate; 5°C - 20°C (Ref. 12324); 72°N - 25°N, 82°W - 34°E

Northeast Atlantic: Norway including Iceland and the Barents Sea, south to northern Africa. Throughout the western Mediterranean but absent from eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Western Atlantic: Labrador, Canada to Gulf of Mexico in Florida, USA. Landlocked in Great Lakes, Finger Lakes, Oneida Lake and Lake Champlain, Canada/USA (Ref. 12269). Vulnerable in Europe. Appendix III of the Bern Convention (protected fauna) (Ref. 40476).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Vertebrae: 0. Anguilliform body (Ref. 51442). Presence of 7 branchial openings (Ref. 51442). Two separated dorsal fins, the second continuous with the caudal fin (Ref. 51442). Number of myomeres: 67-74 (Ref. 6258). Brown-yellow colored on the dorsal and lateral part of the body, with black marblings (Ref. 35388, Ref. 51442).

Amphihaline species making important migrations. Spends its adult life in the sea for about 20 to 30 months. Adults enter freshwater/estuaries for spawning in spring; after spawning they normally die (Ref. 51442). The larvae are reported to spend 6-8 years in the substrate followed by metamorphosis and movement to sea. They remain in the estuarine/marine environment for a juvenile feeding period lasting 23-28 months, during which they grow from ca. 4 to 900 g; at the end of this period, they move into rivers as adults and reproduce (Ref. 58185). Larvae live in rivers where they feed on microorganisms and detritus (Ref. 30578, Ref. 51442). During juvenile feeding phase, they may not only feed on dead or netted fish, but also attach themselves to healthy fish (e.g. wide variety of bony fishes, sharks and marine mammals) by scraping a hole in their skin and sucking out the blood, body fluids and flesh. An anticoagulant substance prevents the blood of the prey from clotting. The landlocked form is very destructive to freshwater fishes and occasionally annoys bathers by clinging to them (Ref. 51442).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Least Concern (LC)	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K 0.16; tm=5-12; Fec = 233)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High to very high vulnerability (72 of 100)	High

Entered by Froese, Rainer

Modified by Ortañez, Auda Kareen

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Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

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