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What the sources say

Sea LampreyPetromyzon marinus

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Sea Lamprey profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 60 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

Petromyzon marinus (eel sucker). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page saysNorth Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal waters
The source saysSea lampreys can also be found along the Atlantic coast of Europe as far north as Norway and ranging as far south as the Mediterranean
The page saysBlood and body fluids of host fish
The source saysAnimal Foods fish blood body fluids
The page saysfrom salmon and trout
The source saysSpecies Used as Host salmon Salmo salar lake trout Salvelinus namaycush rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
The page saysadults can weigh up to 2.5 kilograms
The source saysAdults can weigh up to 2.5 kg.
The page saysThe sea lamprey does not seem to prefer any one host
The source saysThis species is capable of attaching itself to a variety of species of fish and does not seem to have a preference of host species.
The page saysits recorded hosts range from salmon and lake trout to whitefish and walleye
The source saysSpecies Used as Host salmon Salmo salar lake trout Salvelinus namaycush rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis chubs Gila ditaenia burbot Lota iota walleye Sander vitreus
The page saysSpawning is its last act
The source saysSea lampreys die soon after spawning.
The page saysIts digestive system disintegrates and it cannot feed
The source saysdisintegration of the digestive system; adult sea lampreys cannot feed while spawning
The page saysboth sexes die soon after the female lays 30,000 to 100,000 eggs and the male fertilizes them
The source saysA female then lays 30,000 to 100,000 eggs, which the male externally fertilizes. Both male and female adult sea lampreys float away and die soon after spawning.
The page saysTheir whole skeleton is cartilage
The source saystheir entire skeleton is cartilaginous
The page saysThey are even classed as vertebrates while lacking actual vertebrae
The source saysAlthough classified in the subphylum Vertebrata, this species lacks vertebrae
The page saysdangerLevel: Low
The source saysIn one case, a sea lamprey bit a human, though this is thought to have been accidental.Note: one accidental bite on record: effectively harmless to people.
The page saysweightKg: 1.8
The source saysRange mass 1 to 2.5 kgNote: midpoint of the ADW adult range; Light class either way.

Source
02

USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database / NOAA Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System

Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database / NOAA Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System.

The page saysarmed with a sucker mouth ringed in rasping teeth
The source saysa large round sucker-like mouth ringed with small, sharp teeth that act as a rasp along with a file-like tongue
The page saysplus North America's Great Lakes
The source saysLamprey was first discovered in Lake America in 1835, Lake Erie in 1921, Lake Michigan in 1936, Lake Huron in 1937, and Lake Superior in 1946
The page sayswith spawning runs up freshwater rivers
The source saysGenerally marine but ascends freshwater rivers to spawn.
The page saysA jawless, sucker-like mouth ringed with small, sharp teeth that act as a rasp, plus a file-like tongue
The source saysThe sea lamprey is a jawless cartilaginous fish ... a large round sucker-like mouth ringed with small, sharp teeth that act as a rasp along with a file-like tongue
The page saysThey have no jaws
The source saysThe sea lamprey is a jawless cartilaginous fish
The page saysa round, sucker-like mouth ringed with small, sharp teeth that work like a rasp, plus a file-like tongue
The source saysa large round sucker-like mouth ringed with small, sharp teeth that act as a rasp along with a file-like tongue
The page saysSea-run adults can reach 120 centimetres (about four feet), while landlocked lampreys such as those in North America's Great Lakes reach 64 centimetres
The source saysSize: 120 cm anadromous; 64 cm landlockedNote: maximum sizes from Page and Burr; 'sea-run' glosses 'anadromous'. NAS names the Great Lakes populations as the ones that spend their middle stage in a freshwater lake.
The page saysnative to North America's Atlantic coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida, and to Europe's Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean
The source saysAtlantic Coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the St. Johns River, Florida; Atlantic Coast of Europe and Mediterranean Sea
The page saysa blind, worm-like larva called an ammocoete, which burrows into a stream bottom, usually silt or sand, and filter-feeds on algae and detritus
The source saysThe blind, worm-like larval lamprey, known as ammocoetes ... usually silt or sand stream bottoms and banks in slower-moving stretches of water -- they burrow in and take up residence, filter-feeding on algae, detritus and microscopic organisms
The page saysIt may stay a larva for anywhere from three to seventeen years
The source saysLampreys may stay in this larval form from 3-17 years.
The page saysAs it matures it grows eyes and its sucker mouth
The source saysAs they mature, the larval lampreys grow eyes and a sucker-like mouth.
The page saysspends twelve to twenty months feeding on host fish before swimming upstream to spawn
The source saysthe juvenile sea lampreys move into deeper water and begin to seek host fish on which to feed over the course of 12-20 months. In the spring, adult sea lamprey migrate up tributaries to sexually mature and spawn.Note: 'before' follows the source's own sequence of stages.
The page saysNiagara Falls once kept sea lampreys out of Lake Erie and the lakes beyond
The source saysThe sea lamprey was previously prevented from spreading into Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes basin by Niagara Falls.
The page saysThe Welland Canal, opened in 1829, gave them a route around the falls
The source saysThe Welland Canal, opened in 1829, bypassed Niagara Falls providing a route to Lake Erie
The page saysthey turned up in Lake Erie by 1921, Lake Michigan by 1936, Lake Huron by 1937 and Lake Superior by 1946
The source saysLake Erie in 1921, Lake Michigan in 1936, Lake Huron in 1937, and Lake Superior in 1946
The page saysTheir arrival caused a collapse in commercial fisheries in many parts of the Great Lakes in the 1940s and 1950s
The source saysThe introduction of sea lamprey caused a collapse in the commercial fisheries during the 1940s and 1950s in many parts of the Great Lakes
The page saysLake Huron's lake trout catch fell from 3.4 million pounds in 1937 to virtual failure in 1947
The source saysLake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) catch in Lake Huron fell from 3.4 million pounds in 1937 to virtual failure in 1947.
The page saysA binational control program began in the 1950s
The source saysSince the bi-national Sea Lamprey Control program (managed by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission) was started in the 1950s
The page saysusing barriers, traps
The source saysBarriers and traps have been effective controls of sea lamprey since the 1950s.
The page saysand a lampricide that kills larvae in their streams
The source saysthe lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM), a chemical agent that kills larval lampreys in their stream habitats
The page saysBy 2009, lamprey numbers were reported at less than 10% of their mid-20th-century peak
The source saysOverall, current sea lamprey abundance in the Great Lakes is reportedly less than 10% of the peak abundance of the mid-20th century (Siefkes 2009).Note: dated to the 2009 citation the page gives; the page also records a return to pre-control abundance in Lake Erie in 2005.
The page saysa 2007 estimate put the yearly cost of control, monitoring and research at $14 million
The source saysan estimated $14 million/year spent on control, monitoring, and research (Jones 2007)
The page saysFourteen in total: seven gill openings on each side of its head
The source saysseven gill openings on each side of its headNote: fourteen is seven a side, doubled.
The page saysWith no jaws to bite with
The source saysThe sea lamprey is a jawless cartilaginous fish
The page saysit grips the host with its sucker mouth, whose teeth and tongue rasp like a file
The source saysa large round sucker-like mouth ringed with small, sharp teeth that act as a rasp along with a file-like tongue
The page saysThey are not native to most of those lakes
The source saysWhether or not the sea lamprey is native to Lake America, this species is not native to the other Great Lakes and tributaries where it is now readily found.Note: 'Lake America' is how the cached text renders Lake Ontario. 'Most' is four of five: the page leaves the fifth, Lake Ontario, disputed.
The page saystheir arrival caused a collapse in commercial fishing in many parts of the Great Lakes in the 1940s and 1950s
The source saysThe introduction of sea lamprey caused a collapse in the commercial fisheries during the 1940s and 1950s in many parts of the Great Lakes
The page saysIn Lake Michigan the total catch fell from 5.5 million pounds in 1946 to just 402 pounds in 1953
The source saysIn Lake Michigan, total catch fell from 5.5 million pounds in 1946 to 402 pounds in 1953.
The page saysControl continues today
The source saysThis effort continues today, with an estimated $14 million/year spent on control, monitoring, and researchNote: NAS page revised 7/10/2026.
The page saysthe lampricide TFM has to be used again and again to keep their numbers down
The source saysHowever, continued use of TFM is required to keep populations under control
The page saysA Mouth That Rasps
The source sayssmall, sharp teeth that act as a rasp along with a file-like tongueNote: heading.
The page saysBlind for Years Before It Grows Eyes
The source saysThe blind, worm-like larval lamprey, known as ammocoetesNote: heading; the 3-17 years and the eyes are claimed in the section's sentences.
The page saysThe Invasion That Collapsed a Fishery
The source saysThe introduction of sea lamprey caused a collapse in the commercial fisheriesNote: heading.
The page saysA jawless sucker mouth ringed with rasping teeth and a file-like tongue
The source saysThe sea lamprey is a jawless cartilaginous fish ... a large round sucker-like mouth ringed with small, sharp teeth that act as a rasp along with a file-like tongue

Source
03

Ford 2024

Ford (2024). Petromyzon marinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T16781A221272455.

The page saysLeast Concern
The source saysLeast Concern

Source
04

Smith et al. 2013

Smith et al. (2013). Sequencing of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) genome provides insights into vertebrate evolution. Nature Genetics.

The page sayssplit from ours roughly 500 million years ago
The source saysLampreys are representatives of an ancient vertebrate lineage that diverged from our own ∼500 million years ago.
The page saysAn Ancient Jawless Branch
The source saysLampreys are representatives of an ancient vertebrate lineage that diverged from our own ∼500 million years ago.Note: heading; 'jawless' is claimed below from the NAS identification line.
The page saysliving members of an ancient vertebrate lineage that split from the branch leading to us roughly 500 million years ago
The source saysLampreys are representatives of an ancient vertebrate lineage that diverged from our own ∼500 million years ago.

Source
05

Chi et al. 2009

Chi et al. (2009). Suppression of neuronal excitability by the secretion of the lamprey (Lampetra japonica) provides a mechanism for its evolutionary stability. Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology.

The page saysLampreys attach to a host fish with that sucker mouth and suck its blood for days
The source saysThey attach themselves to the body surface of the host fish through their sucker-like mouths and suck blood of the host for days.Note: group scope kept: the sentence says 'Lampreys', as the abstract does.
The page saysPaired glands in their mouths secrete compounds that stop the host's blood from clotting
The source sayspaired buccal glands of lampreys secrete antihemostatic compounds to prevent blood of the host from coagulation
The page saysLampreys secrete compounds from their buccal glands that keep the host's blood from coagulating
The source sayspaired buccal glands of lampreys secrete antihemostatic compounds to prevent blood of the host from coagulation
The page saysthey can go on sucking it for days
The source saysThey attach themselves to the body surface of the host fish through their sucker-like mouths and suck blood of the host for days.

Source
06

Wilkie et al. 2004

Wilkie et al. (2004). Lamprey parasitism of sharks and teleosts: high capacity urea excretion in an extant vertebrate relic. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology.

The page saysto basking sharks
The source saysWe observed 10 sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) parasitizing basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus)
The page saysA shark's armor is no obstacle
The source saysthe sea lamprey's ability to penetrate the dermal denticle armor of sharksNote: blockquote lead-in.
The page saysIn the Bay of Fundy, researchers observed ten sea lampreys feeding on basking sharks, the world's second-largest fish
The source saysWe observed 10 sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) parasitizing basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus), the world's second largest fish, in the Bay of Fundy.
The page saysThe sea lamprey can get through a shark's armor of dermal denticles, its tooth-like scales, then rapidly excrete the large volumes of urea it swallows with shark blood
The source saysthe sea lamprey's ability to penetrate the dermal denticle armor of sharks, to rapidly excrete large volumes of ureaNote: 'its tooth-like scales' glosses 'dermal denticle'; 'swallows with shark blood' is the abstract's 'co-ingested urea while feeding on basking sharks'.
The page saysable to get through a shark's armor of dermal denticles
The source saysthe sea lamprey's ability to penetrate the dermal denticle armor of sharks

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.