Lampetra, Bonnaterre, 1788

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 40-41

Lampetra

There are 13 species in the genus, 4 of which are predatory and 9 nonpredatory brook lampreys. Most are known from Europe and the Asian part of the Black Sea basin. Several North American species are still placed in Lampetra , as a global phylogeny of lampreys shows that the genus Lampetra is not restricted to the Western Palaearctic. The evolution of brook lampreys has been much discussed in Lampetra . Brook lampreys are superficially similar to migratory lampreys of the same genus but do not smoltify and migrate downstream after metamorphosis. Instead, they remain in the streams and spawn in the approaching spring without feeding. As brook lampreys do not feed after metamorphosis, they do not grow (but shrink). Both predatory and brook lampreys may spawn simultaneously at the same sites, but they are reproductively isolated due to their size-related mating behaviour. However, it has always been believed that brook lampreys evolve from migratory lampreys, and ecological factors during their larval phase have been discussed to trigger whether or not they become migratory. Several studies have attempted to determine whether their nucleotides support the independent occurrence of predatory and nonpredatory lampreys and their recognition as separate species. The question is whether the two constitute different life-history strategies of a single but phenotypically highly bipolar species.

Analyses of mitochondrial markers from a geographically broad set of Central and Southwest European Lampetra populations definitively demonstrated nonmonophyly in the widespread Central European nonpredatory species L. planeri compared to the predatory L. fluviatilis . However, it remains to be seen if this is due to ongoing gene flow or incomplete lineage sorting. A comprehensive genome-wide comparison of a predatory/ nonpredatory species pair from the same location ( L. fluviatilis / L. planeri ) revealed strong genetic differen- tiation despite shared mitochondrial haplotypes in these two populations. This genome-wide strong differentia- tion is likely the rule, not an exception. After decades of research, we still need to learn how brook lampreys evolved from predatory lampreys. This is an area that will undoubtedly attract further research in the future.

Lampetra lanceolata ; İyidere, Türkiye; 129 mm TL.

All non-feeding species of Lampetra have likely evolved from L. fluviatilis and its ancestors. Furthermore, all brook lampreys have been isolated from this predatory lamprey at different times. Finally, an additional migratory species was widespread in the northern Black Sea basin, where L. fluviatilis is not found.This species was previously referred to as Eudontomyzon sp. “Migratory” until,after more than 100 years without records, such an animal was found in the Sea of Azov. This individual was identified as a migratory species of Lampetra . Due to the political unrest in Eastern Ukraine, no new data could be collected on this very rare lamprey, and thus, no molecular data are available for this species. This migratory Lampetra species from the Sea of Azov is likely related to L. lanceolata and L. ninae . Further reading. Naseka & Diripasko 2008 (rediscovery of Black Sea lamprey); Lang et al. 2009 (phylogeny); Mateus et al. 2013, Espanhol et al. 2007,Pereira et al. 2010 (book lampreys).