The adult form is the only mobile form. After metamorphosis, adults develop the ability to swim. Adults also have fully functioning eyes. Sight and touch are the two major forms of communication between species and interactions with the environment.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile
IUCN Red List cites southern brook lampreys as a species of least concern throughout the United States.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Southern brook lampreys spend the majority of their lives as ammocoete larva that bury themselves in sandy river bottoms and feed on bacteria and algae floating in the sediment. The larval stage can change depending on the climate and surrounding conditions but generally ranges anywhere from 3 to 4 years. The transformation stage into an adult occurs over a 2 to 3 month period where it migrates to the faster portion of the stream. In the spring, the adult attaches itself to the gravel bottom where it spawns.
Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis
There are no known negative economic effects on humans caused by southern brook lampreys.
Although not a part of the diet for people in the United States, people in countries such as Sweden, Russia and South Korea consume lampreys and some consider it a delicacy. Southern brook lampreys are sold in bait shops to catch pike, perch and chub.
Positive Impacts: food
The larval phase is the only phase that eats and filter feeds on nutrients from algae and bacteria. Southern brook lampreys are not predators.
Southern brook lampreys are not parasites. The larval forms feed on algae and bacteria floating near their stationary location in gravel or sand. Adult southern brook lampreys do not feed, and rely on stored energy sources to survive a short time.
Plant Foods: algae
Other Foods: detritus ; microbes
Foraging Behavior: filter-feeding
Primary Diet: herbivore (Algivore); detritivore
Southern brook lampreys have a narrow geographic range in North America, living only in the Mississippi River basin, the Tennessee River drainage, and the Gulf of Mexico drainages. They inhabit freshwater temperate waters, mainly small streams during the larval stage and larger streams during the adult stage. They prefer shallow water and require a river bottom of gravel and smaller rocks to attach and spawn.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Southern brook lampreys tend to live in swift flowing water but can also be found in the slower moving water, which is generally where the ammocoetes live. The Mississippi River basin is 3705 km long and has a large range of depth, width, and speed depending on the location. Southern brook lampreys typically stay in the smaller rivers and tributaries.
Range elevation: 0 to 450 m.
Range depth: 0.9 to 61 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: rivers and streams
Southern brook lampreys need ideal conditions to survive different phases of their life, so they are hard to manage in captivity. In the wild, once fertilized, the eggs hatch in 2 to 3 weeks and the lampreys remain larvae for 3 to 4 years. Once they metamorphose into the adult phase, they spawn very fast because they only survive 2 to 26 days.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 1111 to 1507 days.
Southern brook lampreys have an eel-like body shape, a dorsal fin divided into two lobes but is not considered two separate fins. The mouth is a sucking disk filled with bicuspid teeth that distinguishes it from northern brook lampreys. Adults are a tannish or green color on their back and lighter yellow or white on the stomach, the fins are also lighter in color. The larval form lacks eyes and instead of an oral disc, the mouth is hood-like.
Range mass: 1.05 to 4.25 g.
Average mass: 2.2 g.
Range length: 10 to 20 cm.
Average length: 16 cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
The larval form burrows into loose gravel or sand so it is hard to find by fish predators. The adult form attaches itself onto rocks in swift moving waters where it is also hard to find because of cryptic coloration. Their known predators include northern pike (Esox lucius), perch (Perca flavescens), and European chub (Squalius cephalus).
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Southern brook lampreys spawn in a group over a time period of less than a week. Five to 20 adults may build a nest of rocks, and several adults are needed complete the nests.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Within a few days after spawning, the adults die. The eggs hatch about 2 to 3 weeks after fertilization and grow into the larval form and stay that way for 3 to 4 years. For 2 to 3 months in the late summer or early fall the larvae metamorphose into adults. Females may carry and release anywhere from 1000 to 2000 eggs during the spawning period and the number of eggs fertilized depends on the number of males present.
Breeding interval: Southern brook lampreys breed once in the spring and then die.
Breeding season: Southern brook lampreys breed in the spring over a time period less than a week.
Range number of offspring: 1000 to 2500.
Average number of offspring: 1700.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 3 to 4 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 to 4 years.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; sexual ; fertilization (External ); broadcast (group) spawning
Spawning southern brook lampreys build nests for the eggs, but the adults die after spawning.
Parental Investment: pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)
