1. American brook lamprey (Lampetra appendix) Timothy Stewart
Identification: buccal disk; 7 gill apertures; no paired fins (to 26 cm)
Distribution: northeast IA (e.g., Volga River); mid-central IA?
Habitat: riffles/runs over gravel/sand in streams; ammocoetes burrow; adults cling to rocks
Iowa DNR
Minnesota DNR

2. American brook lamprey (Lampetra appendix)
Diet: organic matter, microbes (ammocoetes); adults nonfeeding
Reproduction: 1,000-5,000 eggs in sand depressions in spring; adults die after spawning
Conservation status: IA status “threatened”; cool, clear water with gravel/sand critical?; abundance unknown
Minnesota DNR

3. American brook lamprey (Lampetra appendix)
Economic/recreational value: unimportant to anglers
Ecological importance: probably unimportant in IA due to rarity; process organic matter; eaten by piscivores
Other: short adult life (fall to spring – nonfunctional digestive system); 4-7 years as ammocoetes

4. References: Lampetra appendix
Iowa Department of Natural Resources IowaDNR Fish and Fishing. Available at August 2004.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Iowa’s threatened and endangered species. Available at August 2004.
Mayhew, J Iowa Fish and Fishing. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, Iowa.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Fishes of Minnesota. Available at August 2004.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr Freshwater Fishes of North America North of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.