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Silver Lamprey
Ichthyomyzon unicuspis
The silver lamprey (Ichthyomyzon unicuspis) is a lamprey commonly found in the Northern and Central United States, as well as a large part of southern Canada. Its genus name means "sucking fish" in Greek and the species name means "one-pointed" in Latin. The silver lamprey is a member of the class Agnatha, sometimes referred to as cyclostomes (round-mouths). The silver lamprey should not be confused with the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), which has caused considerable damage to native fish populations in the Great Lakes region.
From the article Silver lamprey on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
The silver lamprey is commonly found along the Great Lakes and in the Mississippi River and Ohio River and their tributaries from Minnesota to Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. There have also been a small number of isolated encounters around the Hudson Bay and in the Mississippi River in Mississippi.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
What it does
Adult silver lampreys are parasitic, feeding on the blood of other fishes. Most non-parasitic lamprey feed only as larvae, then die. Silver lampreys use their oral discs to attach to their hosts, then cut through the skin and scales with their teeth. The lamprey will remain attached to the host over a long period of time, but they seldom kill their host (which have coevolved with these lampreys). Adults feed on a variety of fishes, including trout, whitefish, smelt, pike, white sucker, brown bullhead, rock bass, walleye, and the armored lake sturgeon. The silver lamprey's larval young feed on drifting plankton, algae, and detritus.
Wikipedia: “Diet”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Ichthyomyzon unicuspis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 103274.