Lampetra lanceolata, Kux & Steiner, 1972

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

Lampetra lanceolata

Common name. Anatolian brook lamprey.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from L. ninae by: ● posterial teeth absent or only two unicuspid teeth present. Size up to 140 mm TL in adults, 173 mm TL in ammocoetes.

Distribution. Türkiye: İyidere and Yanbolu drainages, coastal streams flowing into Black Sea between Rize and Trabzon, also in upper Melen, and streams flowing into Lake Sapanca.

Habitat. Lower parts of rivers with slow currents and bottoms rich in organic material. Ammocoetes live in detritus-rich sand or clay sediments.Spawns on gravel substrate.

Biology. Nonpredatory, freshwater resident. Larvae begin metamorphosis after third summer and reach a total length of 130 mm at end of summer. Likely to spawn in April and May at water temperatures between 13 and 15°C.

Conservation status. CR; distributed up to 15 km inland from mouth of İyidere, where it has declined sharply and is now very rare. There are now six hydroelectric dams in the İyidere, which caused massive habitat change due to pulsed flooding. Status and distribution in other streams are unknown. Very rare in Sapanca Lake basin.

Further reading. Kux & Steiner 1972 (description); Lang et al. 2009 (generic position); Gözler et al. 2011 (ecology); Renaud 2011 (description).