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| Ohio lamprey | |
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| Ohio lamprey. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Infraphylum: | Agnatha |
| Superclass: | Cyclostomi |
| Class: | Petromyzontida |
| Order: | Petromyzontiformes |
| Family: | Petromyzontidae |
| Genus: | Ichthyomyzon |
| Species: | I. bdellium |
| Binomial name | |
| Ichthyomyzon bdellium (D. S. Jordan, 1885) | |
| Synonyms[3][4] | |
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TheOhio lamprey (Ichthyomyzon bdellium) is alamprey found in theOhio Riverdrainage basin in theUnited States and is a parasitic species oflampreys. They are considered to be anendangered/rare species in some states, due tosiltation,pollution, and construction ofdams.
All lampreys have a long, almost eel-like, body with no scales. Lampreys have segments of muscles that are visible along their body called myomeres, and a jawless mouth. In larval lampreys, calledammocoetes, their mouth is not fully developed, very small, and hidden between folds of skin. Adults have a disk shaped mouth with varying amounts of teeth depending on the species. The Ohio lamprey has a single, continuous dorsal fin. Fully grown, Ohio lampreys reach 10–14 inches, but may get to 15 inches.
Asammocoetes, Ohio lamprey filterplankton,algae, and other smallorganic matter. As adults, they attach onto larger prey, such assmallmouth bass,walleyes,redhorse suckers, andtrout, feeding on blood and body fluids. Ohio lampreys do not appear to kill the host fish, as they evolved with other fishes in their range. As a result, they do not appear to have a significant effect on populations of their host fishes.
As a sexually mature adult, Ohio lamprey will seek out suitable breeding sites. They likely do not return to their natal site tospawn, but this remains untested. Spawning occurs in late May or early June, with adults working together or in pairs to create a pit in riffles of moderate currents. They use their suction cup-like mouth to move rocks from these riffles, and then the female lamprey deposits eggs into this pit aftermating. All adults will die after spawning.
The Ohio lamprey is found throughout theOhio River basin in 11 states:Alabama,Georgia,Indiana,Kentucky,New York,North Carolina,Ohio,Pennsylvania,Tennessee,Virginia, andWest Virginia. The Ohio lamprey used to be found inIllinois, but is now considered to beextirpated; the last sighting was in 1918.
