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Lampreys may spend up to eight years as ammocoetes, [57] while species such as the Arctic lamprey may only spend one to two years as larvae, [58] prior to undergoing a metamorphosis which generally lasts 3–4 months, but can vary between species. [59] While metamorphosing, they do not eat. [60]
Cyclostomi, often referred to as Cyclostomata / s ɪ k l oʊ ˈ s t ɒ m ə t ə /, is a group of vertebrates that comprises the living jawless fishes: the lampreys and hagfishes.Both groups have jawless mouths with horny epidermal structures that function as teeth called ceratodontes, and branchial arches that are internally positioned instead of external as in the related jawed fishes. [1]
Agnatha (/ ˈ æ ɡ n ə θ ə, æ ɡ ˈ n eɪ θ ə /; [3] from Ancient Greek ἀ-(a-) 'without' and γνάθος (gnáthos) 'jaws') is a paraphyletic infraphylum [4] of non-gnathostome vertebrates, or jawless fish, in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, consisting of both living (cyclostomes) and extinct (conodonts, anaspids, and ostracoderms, among others).
The Caspian lamprey is a slim-bodied, eel-like fish that grows to a length of about 40 cm (16 in). The longest recorded specimen was 55 cm (22 in) long and weighed 206 g (7.3 oz). Like other lampreys, it has no jaws, but it has a round oral disc surrounding the mouth. Inside this it has several radiating rows of tiny, backward-facing teeth.
Like all lampreys, these fish lack paired fins and possess a circular sucking disc instead of jaws. They have a single nostril and seven small gill slits on either side behind the eye. The teeth are sharp and these fish can be told from the rather smaller brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) by the fact that the two dorsal fins are more widely ...
Like other lampreys, it has no jaws, only a sucker. The skin is a striking silver in adult lampreys caught fresh from the sea but soon changes to brown after they have been in fresh water for some time, due to deposition of biliverdin. [9] Adult's eyes are relatively small and located on the side of the head.
Each larva that grows into a juvenile sea lamprey will migrate into Lake Michigan and can kill 40 pounds of fish in its 12- to 18-month feeding period.
If lampreys are included, they would extend the known range of the group from the Silurian and Devonian periods to the present day. They are the closest relatives of jawed fishes , who may have emerged from within them; if this is true, they would survive if the jawed fish are included.