Lampreys 227 



LAMPREYS 



The lampreys are primitive aquatic fish-like vertebrates 

 belonging in the Class Cyclostomata. Their skeletons are 

 cartilagenous and the skull is very simple and barely dif- 

 ferent from the vertebral column. They have no true jaws, 

 ribs, or paired fins. Only a single species, the sea lamprey, 

 occurs in the marine waters of the American Atlantic coast. 



Sea Lamprey 

 Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus 



Color: Adults: ground color of upper surface of body 

 various shades of brown, green, red, or blue, with mottles 

 of a darker shade of the same color. Belly white, gray, or 

 lighter shade of ground color of upper surface of the body. 

 Young: silvery blackish blue above, white beneath. 

 Distribution: Occurs on both sides of the Atlantic. In the 

 western Atlantic it is found from Greenland to Florida 

 and in a landlocked form in some of the American lakes. 

 Size: Reaches a length of about 3 feet and a weight of 

 over IVa pounds. 



General Information: Specimens of Sea Lamprey found in 

 salt water are not mature. In this stage it obtains nourish- 

 ment by fastening to the sides of various marine fishes with 

 its sucker-like mouth and by movement of the horny-toothed 

 tongue rasping away at the flesh of the fish to encourage 

 the flow of blood which is its food. This blood-feeding 

 form remains in the sea from one to two years, then runs 

 up coastal streams and rivers to fresh water, where it 



