Vertebrate Zoology

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lamprey

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

lamprey name for several primitive marine and freshwater fishes of the order Cyclostomata, or jawless fishes (see cyclostome ). As in the other member of the order, the hagfish , the adult lamprey retains the notochord , the supporting structure that in higher vertebrates is found only in the embryo. An ancient fish that still resembles fossils that are 360 million years old, the lamprey lacks a sympathetic nervous system, a spleen, and scales. Most adult lampreys are parasitic, sucking the blood of other fishes. The horny teeth, set in the circular, jawless mouth, attach to the prey and the lamprey feeds as it is carried along. Lampreys have an anticoagulant in the saliva that keeps the blood of the victim fluid. Some freshwater lampreys eat flesh as well as blood.

Lampreys resemble eels in external appearance and, although not related to the true eels, are sometimes called lamprey eels. When not attached to prey, they swim with undulating movements. The marine lampreys normally migrate into freshwater to spawn, and some populations have become landlocked in freshwater.

The sexes are separate in lampreys and fertilization is external. The parents die shortly after the eggs are deposited in a nest. The larvae, called ammocoetes, are about 1/4 in. (6 mm) long. They are transparent, eyeless filter-feeders and live in muddy river bottoms, eating particles of organic matter. Ammocoetes are used in zoology courses to demonstrate a theoretically primitive vertebrate construction. At about five years of age they metamorphose into the adult, parasitic form. In some species the adult does not feed and remains the size of the larva.

There are 7 genera and about 25 species of lampreys, with 13 species in the United States. The Atlantic lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, found on both sides of the Atlantic, has become well established in the Great Lakes, where it is considered a serious pest by the fishing industry. Lampreys are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Agnatha, order Cyclostomata, family Petromyzontidae.

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"lamprey." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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lamprey

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

lam·prey / ˈlamprē/ • n. (pl. -eys) an eellike aquatic jawless vertebrate (family Petromyzonidae) that has a sucker mouth with horny teeth and a rasping tongue. The adult is often parasitic, attaching itself to other fish and sucking their blood.

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"lamprey." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"lamprey." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-lamprey.html

"lamprey." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-lamprey.html

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lamprey

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

lamprey XIII. —OF. lampreie (mod. lamproie) :- medL. lamprēda (whence also OE. lamprede); poss. alt. of lampetra, expl. as f. lambere lick- + petra stone (with allusion to the lamprey attaching itself to stones). Cf. LIMPET.

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T. F. HOAD. "lamprey." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "lamprey." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-lamprey.html

T. F. HOAD. "lamprey." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-lamprey.html

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lamprey

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

lamprey Eel-like, jawless vertebrate found in marine and fresh waters on both sides of the Atlantic. It feeds by attaching its mouth to fish and sucking their blood. Length: to 91cm (3ft). Family Petromyzondiae.

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lamprey

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

lamprey a surfeit of this as a food fish is traditionally said to have caused the death of Henry I, according to a contemporary account quoted by Fabyan's New Chronicles of England and France (1516).

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "lamprey." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "lamprey." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-lamprey.html

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lamprey

A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition | 2005 | | Copyright

lamprey Cartilaginous fish resembling eels; sea lamprey is Petromyzon marinus, river lamprey or lampern is Lampetra fluviatilis.

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DAVID A. BENDER. "lamprey." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAVID A. BENDER. "lamprey." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-lamprey.html

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lamprey

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

lamprey See AMMOCOETE; PETROMYZONIDAE.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "lamprey." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "lamprey." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-lamprey.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "lamprey." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-lamprey.html

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lamprey

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"lamprey." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"lamprey." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-lamprey.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Lamprey Fish Should Be Protected, Suit Urges. News Wire article from: The Register Guard (Eugene, OR); 5/28/2004
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