Caspian lamprey
| Caspian lamprey | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Cephalaspidomorphi |
| Order: | Petromyzontiformes |
| Family: | Petromyzontidae |
| Genus: | Caspiomyzon L. S. Berg, 1906 |
| Species: | C. wagneri |
| Binomial name | |
| Caspiomyzon wagneri (Kessler, 1870) |
|
The Caspian lamprey, Caspiomyzon wagneri, is a species of lamprey native to the Caspian Sea. It is currently the only member of the genus Caspiomyzon. It is possible that Eudontomyzon hellenicus and E. graecus (if separate from E. hellenicus) also belong in this genus. This species is a non-parasitic lamprey that feeds on animal carcasses.
Description
The Caspian lamprey is a slim bodied, eel-like fish that grows to a length of about 40 centimetres (16 in). The longest recorded specimen was 55 centimetres (22 in) long and weighed 206 grams (7.3 oz). Like other lampreys it has no jaws but has a round oral disc surrounding the mouth. Inside this it has several radiating rows of tiny, backward-facing teeth. There is a single nostril near the eyes. There are no gill covers and the seven gill openings are visible just behind the head. The fish has no scales or paired fins but has two elongated dorsal fins, the hindmost of which nearly joins on to the small tail fin. The Caspian lamprey is a silvery-grey colour.[1]
Distribution
The Caspian lamprey is an anadromous fish which spends its adult life in the Caspian Sea and migrates up the Volga, Sura and other rivers to spawn. It was at one time a common fish that was caught in nets and fish traps in the lower Volga for extracting fish oil and making candles and later for human consumption. In the early 1900s, fifteen to thirty million fish were harvested annually from the lower Volga. It is now an uncommon fish because its migratory routes have been disrupted by dams and construction projects and it can no longer reach its spawning grounds.[2]
Status
The Caspian lamprey is listed as "Near Threatened" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Damming of rivers in the mid twentieth has caused it to be cut off from its traditional spawning sites but new sites have been found below the dams. The chief threat more recently has been the drying up of these streams caused by drought.[3]
References
- ^ Maitland, Peter S. (2000). Freshwater Fish of Britain and Europe. Octopus Publishing Group. p. 62–64. ISBN 0 600 59690 7.
- ^ "Caspiomyzon wagneri (Kessler, 1870)". FishBase. 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
- ^ Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Caspiomyzon wagneri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
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