Caspiomyzon wagneri (Kessler, 1870)

Caspian lamprey

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Cephalaspidomorphi \| Petromyzontiformes \| Petromyzontidae \| Petromyzontinae
Synonyms	Petromyzon wagneri, Agnathomyzon wagneri, Agnathomyzon caspicus, ... more
Common names	... more

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Image of Caspiomyzon wagneri (Caspian lamprey)

Picture by Afzali, A.

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Main reference

Holcík, J. 1986. (Ref. 12275)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 55.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12275); common length : 36.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12275); common length :37 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 206 g (Ref. 12275); max. reported age: 6 years (Ref. 59043)

Length at first maturity

, range 19 - 46 cm

Environment

Demersal; anadromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; brackish; marine

Climate / Range

Temperate; ? - 23°C (Ref. 59043); 59°N - 35°N, 42°E - 58°E (Ref. 59043)

Eurasia: endemic to the Caspian Sea drainage. Construction projects along the rivers entering the Caspian Sea have had a very negative impact. Very rare now in the Volga river (Ref. 12275); reported to migrate for spawning to the Sura River and its tributaries (the Penza, Aiva, and Inza rivers) as far as Penza Ciry in the 1920s (Ref. 58030).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0. With many small teeth in regular backward-curved radiating rows. All teeth are low, blunt and button-shaped. The supraoral lamina is short, with one, rarely two closely connected teeth. The infraoral lamina have 4-6 large, blunt teeth. The width of the oral disc is less than the body width. Ammocoetes larvae have 53-68 trunk myomeres.

Non-parasitic lamprey. Ammocoetes larvae reach up to 13 mm TL and get up to 3 years old. They live in bottom deposits and feed on diatoms and detritus. In the intestines of adults, only the remains of algae and higher plants are found. However, they may also feed on dead fish and are known to attach themselves to trout, presumably for transport. A 22% reduction in total length occurs from the pre-spawning to the spawning period. Adults die after spawning. The flesh is reported to be poisonous to eat (ichthyosarcotoxic) and must be treated before consumption. Until 1868, all catches were dried and used as candles or for production of oil. Only thereafter it was used as food for humans, and is now considered a valuable and delicious fish.


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Near Threatened (NT)	Poisonous to eat (Ref. 4537)

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: experimental


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment Abundance	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)

PD₅₀ = 1.0000

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=tmax=4-6)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low to moderate vulnerability (29 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Froese, Rainer

Modified by Froese, Rainer

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