Ichthyomyzon greeleyi

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Mountain Brook lamprey
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Cephalaspidomorphi Order: Petromyzontiformes Family: Petromyzontidae Genus: Ichthyomyzon Species: I. greeleyi
Binomial name
Ichthyomyzon greeleyi Hubbs and Trautman, 1937

Ichthyomyzon greeleyi or the Mountain Brook Lamprey is a lamprey found in parts of the Mississippi river basin, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and in the Cumberland River and Tennessee river.

[edit] Identification

The dorsal fin is notched but not separated the disk, when expanded is always narrower than the head. Life colors include gray-brown or an olive-tan with a white or off-white underside and yellow fins. the sides can be olive or tan with dark flecks.

[edit] Spawning

Spawning starts when the water is 18.9 °C (42.5 °F). The males create nest in a foot or so of water by clearing stones and pebbles out of the way and exposing fine gravel or sand. The depression formed in shallow, about 2 inches deep with a diameter of 8 to 10 inches. spawning begins when a female attaches herself to to a rock over the nest. These lamprey die after spawning.