Lampreys Dissection
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia – Animal, animaux, animals Taxonomic Rank: Species Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata – cordés, cordado, chordates Subphylum: Vertebrata – vertebrado, vertébrés, vertebrates Infraphylum: Agnatha Class: Cephalaspidomorphi – lampreys Order: Petromyzontiformes – lampreys, lampreas, lamproies Family: Petromyzontidae – lamproies, lampreas, lampreys Genus: Petromyzon Linnaeus, 1758 Species: Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758 – sea lamprey, lamproie marine, lake lamprey Location
The first recorded observation of a sea lamprey in the Great Lakes was in 1835 in Lake Ontario. Niagara Falls served as a natural barrier, preventing them from entering the remaining four Great Lakes. However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, improvements to the Welland Canal, which bypasses Niagara Falls and provides a shipping connection between Lakes Ontario and Erie, allowed sea lampreys access to the rest of the Great Lakes. They were sighted in Lake Erie by 1921, Lakes Michigan and Huron by 1936 and 1937, and Lake Superior by 1938 |