Western brook lamprey

Western brook lamprey
Western brook lamprey
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Petromyzontida
Order: Petromyzontiformes
Family: Petromyzontidae
Genus: Lampetra
Species:
L. richardsoni
Binomial name
Lampetra richardsoni
Vladykov and Follett, 1965
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Lampetra richardsoni var. marifuga Beamish & Withler 1986

The western brook lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni) is a small (<18 cm), widely distributed, non-parasitic species of jawless fish endemic to the freshwater coastal waterways of the Western United States and Canada.[4] Its range extends from the North American Pacific coast from Taku River, southern Alaska, Queen Charlotte Islands, to central California, including Vancouver Island, with major inland distributions in the Columbia and Sacramento-San Joaquin watersheds.[5][6]

One endangered[6] parasitic variety, the Morrison Creek lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni var. marifuga), is unique to Morrison Creek, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Which is larger in size (15 – 18 cm). The Morrison Creek lamprey is able to feed after it becomes an adult[6] unlike the western brook lamprey which can only feed in its larval stage.[6][7]

The western brook lamprey is Not at Risk (Yellow List) and does not have a Species at Risk Act.[7]

It spawns in spring until mid-summer when the water temperature is over 10 degrees Celsius. Nests made out of gravel, after hatching swept downstream into quieter parts of the stream and burrow into the ground. Stay in these quiet areas for about four years until eventually turning into adults. When they become adults in late summer to late fall they do not eat. After the lamprey spawns it dies.[7]

  1. ^ NatureServe (2013). "Lampetra richardsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T202630A18236331. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202630A18236331.en. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. ^ Van Der Laan, Richard; Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ronald (11 November 2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (1): 1–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
  3. ^ Froese, R.; Pauly, D. (2017). "Petromyzontidae". FishBase version (02/2017). Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  4. ^ Vladykov, Vadim D. & W. I. Follett (1965). "Lampetra richardsoni, A New Nonparasitic Species of Lamprey (Petromyzonidae) from Western North America". Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. 22 (1): 139–158. doi:10.1139/f65-013.
  5. ^ Hammerson, G.A., & M.Ormes. "Lampetra richardsoni". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). "COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Western Brook Lamprey Lampetra richardsoni Morrison Creek Population in Canada" (PDF). Species at Risk Public Registry. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "Western Brook Lamprey – Pearson Ecological". Retrieved 2022-01-29.