One of the 2 lampreys on WAnimals
Lampreys · Petromyzontiformes · Petromyzontidae
Petromyzon marinus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
Accidentally introduced to the North American Great Lakes in the early 20th century, it has driven at least 3 native fish species to extinction there by parasitising them to death.
Weight
300 g – 1.4 kg
Size
35 cm – 90 cm
Life expectancy
8 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: PubMed (life cycle marine stage study); Sea Lamprey NJ DEP fact sheet; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Pond Informer; Illinois DNR; Animal Diversity Web; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; PubMed (oxidative stress ageing study)
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 20 of 66.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Sea Lamprey — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about sea lamprey.
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The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
