Least Brook Lamprey (Lampetra aepyptera), NE Alabama, April 2018

The Least Brook Lamprey (Lampetra aepyptera) is a non-parasitic lamprey distributed in the Mississippi River watershed as well as a smaller range along the Atlantic coast. Larval lampreys are called ammocoetes which burrow into soft sediments. These larval fishes have a mouth that is not fully developed; instead, the mouth is hidden between folds of skin. During the larval phase, ammocoetes eat organic particles strained from bottom sediments. After somewhere around three years, ammocoetes transform into a non-parasitic adult. Adults live in headwater streams until they spawn…then they die.