Kern brook lamprey

📖 Overview

Adults inhabit silty backwaters of rivers and spawns in gravel riffles . Both the larval and adult stages were originally collected from the Friant-Kern Canal, which is 85% concrete lined and has a discharge greater than 57 m3/sec; an artificial habitat. Adults occur in the Merced River, which should be considered typical habitat. Adults nonparasitic .

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Characterized by having expanded oral disc narrower than head, usually 52-56 trunk myomeres, 2 supraoral teeth, usually 1-1-1-1 lateral circumoral teeth, 9-12 unicuspid posterior circumoral teeth, 5 infraoral teeth and coloration consisting of gray to brown above, white below, black specks on dorsal and caudal fins, and no black on lateral-line pores . Adults: 8.1-14.2 cm TL; body proportions (percentage of TL based on 127 specimens 8.1-14.2 cm TL): 7.8-14.4 prebranchial length, 8.5-12.8 branchial length, 44.6-56.9 trunk length, 24.3-30.8 tail length, 0.8-2.8 eye length and 3.7-8.7 disc length, 8.3-16.7 urogenital papilla length (percentage of branchial length in 9 spawning males 10.6-12.4 cm TL); trunk myomeres, 50-57. Adult dentition: supraoral lamina, 2 unicuspid teeth, rarely 3; infraoral lamina, 4-unicuspid teeth, usually 5; 4 endolaterals on each side, rarely 3; endolateral formula, typically 1-1-1-1, the first endolateral may also be bicuspid, the second and third endolaterals bi- or tricuspid, and the fourth bicuspid, however, no endolateral formula of 2-3-3-2 was encountered in 40 individuals examined; 2 row of anterials, 3-9 unicuspid teeth in total, three of these in the first row; exolaterals absent; 1 row of posterials, 8-12 unicuspid teeth in a continuous (complete) row or discontinuous (incomplete) row of only six unicuspid teeth; transverse lingual lamina, cusps too poorly developed to count, however, the median one not enlarged; longitudinal lingual laminae, cusps too poorly developed to count. Velar tentacles in adults, 3-5, with tubercles; median velar tentacle shorter than the lateral ones immediately next to it; no velar wings; body coloration (preserved), gray-brown on dorsal and lateral aspects, whitish on ventral aspect; extent of caudal fin pigmentation, 1% to

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Kern brook lamprey is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

🥚 Reproduction

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous . Temperate; 38°N - 36°N North America: East side of San Joaquin Valley in lower Merced, Kaweah, Kings, and San Joaquin rivers in California, USA.

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

🛡️ Conservation Assessment

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🐠 Related Species

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