Nunnally Ichthyology Collection: sea lamprey part 2

Sea lampreys are anadromous, which means they lives as adults in the ocean, but migrate up freshwater streams to reproduce. A female lamprey can lay up to 100,000 eggs. The larval form of sea lampreys are filter-feeders that live in streambed sand or mud burrows; they are called ammocoetes.

Sea lamprey are native to the Atlantic coast throughout Eastern U.S. and Western Europe. They began to spread into the U.S. Great Lakes via man-made canals in the 1800s, have become a very successful invasive due to lack of natural predators and abundant food, and are threatening natural Great Lake ecosystems and populations of fish, which damages the Great Lakes' fisheries.

originally posted: October 14, 2022