The brook lamprey (''Lampetra planeri'', also known as the European brook lamprey and the western brook lamprey) is a small European

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like s ...

species that exclusively inhabits freshwater environments. The species is related to, but distinct from, the North American western brook lamprey ('' Lampetra richardsoni'').

Description

The brook lamprey is a common, non-parasitic species that ranges from North America to northern Europe. Adult brook lampreys measure from . The body is highly elongated and dark blue or greenish above, lightening to yellowish off-white on the sides and pure white on the ventral side. Like all lampreys, these fish lack paired fins and possess a circular sucking disc instead of

jaw The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serv ...

s, which is filled with blunt teeth. They have a single nostril and seven small gill openings on either side behind the eye. The brook lamprey can be told from the closely related river lamprey (''

Lampetra fluviatilis The European river lamprey (''Lampetra fluviatilis''), also known as the river lamprey or lampern, is a species of freshwater lamprey. Description Adult river lampreys measure from for the sea-going forms and up to for the lake forms. The very ...

'') by the fact that its two dorsal fins are more closely linked together.

Distribution

Brook lampreys can be found in small streams and larger rivers throughout northern Europe as well as

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, southern

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, the Balkans and the upper reaches of the

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Biology

Unlike some species of lamprey, the adults do not migrate to the sea and do not have a parasitic phase. During the spawning time adult brook lampreys do not feed. Brook lampreys spawn in spring and summer in shallow areas of streams and sometimes lakes in gravel close to the soft sediment in which they were previously resident. Both males and females create pits by removing small rocks with their mouths and fanning smaller particles with their tails. The male and female deposit sperm and eggs, simultaneously while intertwined, into the nest. The female can release several thousand eggs, up to 100,000 for some species. Adult brook lamprey spawn in small groups and die soon after spawning. The eggs hatch within a few days, after which the young larvae bury themselves in soft sediment with only the mouth protruding. The young lampreys are blind filter feeders, feeding on detritus and other organic matter for three to five years before maturing. After spending four years as ammocoetes (Larva), these lampreys metamorphose to adults in the fall and spawn the following spring. This process is complete after the maturation of the gonads. Eyes and suction disk also develop during this time, while the

intestinal tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans ...

degenerates and loses its function. The full transformation can take up to a year. Thus, these fish develop their teeth precisely when they are no longer able to eat. However, lampreys have been observed gripping stones with their teeth in order to build nests, showing that the teeth do have a function.

References

Other sources

*Animal, Smithsonian Institution, 2005
Fishbase
{{Authority control Fish of Europe Lampetra Fish described in 1784