Ecology of Petromyzon marinus
 
Main Ref. Farmer, J.G., 1980
Remarks Amphihaline species making important migrations. Spends its adult life in the sea for about 20 to 30 months. Adults enter freshwater/estuaries for spawning in spring; after spawning they normally die (Ref. 51442). The larvae are reported to spend 6-8 years in the substrate followed by metamorphosis and movement to sea. They remain in the estuarine/marine environment for a juvenile feeding period lasting 23-28 months, during which they grow from ca. 4 to 900 g; at the end of this period, they move into rivers as adults and reproduce (Ref. 58185). Larvae live in rivers where they feed on microorganisms and detritus (Ref. 30578, Ref. 51442). During juvenile feeding phase, they may not only feed on dead or netted fish, but also attach themselves to healthy fish (e.g. wide variety of bony fishes, sharks and marine mammals) by scraping a hole in their skin and sucking out the blood, body fluids and flesh. Adults are hematophageous predators of fishes (Ref. 51442). The ammocoetes-larvae is microphageous feeding mostly on diatoms (Ref. 51442).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

Marine - Neritic Marine - Oceanic Brackishwater Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies
  • supra-littoral zone
  • littoral zone
  • sublittoral zone
  • epipelagic
  • mesopelagic
  • epipelagic
  • abyssopelagic
  • hadopelagic
  • estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas
  • mangroves
  • marshes/swamps
  • rivers/streams
  • lakes/ponds
  • caves
  • exclusively in caves
Highighted items on the list are where Petromyzon marinus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref. Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott, 1988
Associations parasitism;
Associated with On freshwater fishes Coregonus johannae, C. nigripinnis, C. zenithicus, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Salvelinus namaycush, and on marine fishes Cetorhinus maximus, Acipenser oxyrinchus, Alosa sapidissima,
Association remarks Parasites of landlocked sea lampreys include: 3 trematodes, 4 cestodes, 1 nematode, 1 acanthocephalan, 1 leech, 1 mollusc and 1 copepod (Ref. 5951). Parasitism on fishes with occurrence of multiple attachments (e.g., 3 on Cetorhinus maximus, 2-3 on Urophycis chuss) (Ref. 89241). Adults are parasitic, using their sharp teeth to attach themselves to cetaceans and large fish and feed off their host’s blood, body fluids and flesh for several days, usually without killing the host (Ref. 59043). An anticoagulant substance prevents the blood of the prey from clotting (Ref. 12324, 35387, 88186).
Parasitism outside host

Feeding

Feeding type mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref. Farmer, J.G., 1980
Feeding habit hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref. Farmer, J.G., 1980
Trophic Level(s)
Estimation method Original sample Unfished population Remark
Troph s.e. Troph s.e.
From diet composition
From individual food items 4.37 0.85 Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.
(e.g. 346)
(e.g. cnidaria)
Comments & Corrections
 
 
Back to Search
cfm script by eagbayani,  ,  php script by rolavides, 2/5/2008 ,  last modified by mbactong, 10/24/19