Sea Lamprey, Underwater { 46 images } Created 27 Jun 2016
Underwater Images of Sea Lamprey.
The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is a parasitic lamprey native to the Northern Hemisphere. It has an eel-like body without paired fins. Its mouth is jawless, round and sucker-like, and as wide or wider than the head; sharp teeth are arranged in many consecutive circular rows. There are 7 branchial openings behind the eye. Olive or brown-yellow on the dorsal and lateral part of the body, with some black marblings, with lighter colouration on the belly. Adults can reach a length of up to 47 inches.
Sea lampreys are considered a pest in the Great Lakes region. The species is native to the inland Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain in New York and Vermont. It is not clear whether it is native to Lake Ontario, where it was first noticed in the 1830s, or whether it was introduced through the Erie Canal which opened in 1825.
It spread to Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior, where it decimated indigenous fish populations in the 1930s and 1940s. They have created a problem with their aggressive parasitism on key predator species and game fish, such as lake trout, lake whitefish, chub, and lake herring.
The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is a parasitic lamprey native to the Northern Hemisphere. It has an eel-like body without paired fins. Its mouth is jawless, round and sucker-like, and as wide or wider than the head; sharp teeth are arranged in many consecutive circular rows. There are 7 branchial openings behind the eye. Olive or brown-yellow on the dorsal and lateral part of the body, with some black marblings, with lighter colouration on the belly. Adults can reach a length of up to 47 inches.
Sea lampreys are considered a pest in the Great Lakes region. The species is native to the inland Finger Lakes and Lake Champlain in New York and Vermont. It is not clear whether it is native to Lake Ontario, where it was first noticed in the 1830s, or whether it was introduced through the Erie Canal which opened in 1825.
It spread to Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior, where it decimated indigenous fish populations in the 1930s and 1940s. They have created a problem with their aggressive parasitism on key predator species and game fish, such as lake trout, lake whitefish, chub, and lake herring.
