Lethenteron ninae, a new nonparasitic lamprey species from the north-eastern Black Sea basin (Petromyzontiformes: Petromyzontidae)

Abstract

Lethenteron ninae sp. n., a nonparasitic lamprey, is described from rivers of western Transcaucasia in Russia and Abkhazia. It is distinguished from the other species of Lampetrinae in Europe and west Asia (Black Sea basin) by the combination of the following character states: adults with a dark blotch near the apex of the second dorsal fin; exolaterals absent; posterials either absent or more commonly present in a single incomplete row of 3-7 teeth (a toothless gap in the middle); transverse lingual lamina with 9-15 unicuspid teeth, the median one markedly enlarged; supraoral lamina with two unicuspid teeth separated by a toothless bridge; 1-2 rows of anterials, usually 2; first row of anterials with 5-7 unicuspid teeth; oral fimbriae, 69-99; trunk myomeres in both ammocoetes and adults, 56-62; and in ammocoetes, trunk not mottled and tongue precursor bulb clearly triangular, with a wide base and a pointed apex bearing few cirri.

Three new cryptic species of the lamprey genus Lampetra Bonnaterre, 1788 (Petromyzontiformes: Petromyzontidae) from the Iberian Peninsula

“…probably due to the fact that this character, despite being broadly used in the taxonomy of lampreys (e.g. Naseka et al, 2009;Reid et al, 2011), may be influenced by ecological factors (e.g. latitude and temperature during the first stages of the larval development, references above), and should therefore be cautiously used in lamprey taxonomy.…”

Genetic diversity, endemism and phylogeny of lampreys within the genus Lampetra sensu stricto (Petromyzontiformes: Petromyzontidae) in western North America

“…dentition, relative size of the eye and oral disc) are limited to adult specimens (Hubbs & Potter, 1971). There is a particular lack of taxonomically informative morphological characters in brook lampreys, a collective term used to describe the non‐parasitic lampreys that occur within seven of the 10 recognized lamprey genera and that constitute more than half of the 41 described species (Renaud, 1997; Potter & Gill, 2003; Holčík & Šorić, 2004; Naseka et al , 2009; Renaud & Economidis, 2010). All lampreys spend c. 3–7 years as blind, filter‐feeding larvae in the silt bottoms of rivers and streams.…”

Redescription of the Far Eastern brook lamprey Lethenteron reissneri (Dybowski, 1869) (Petromyzontidae)

“…7b in Vladykov (1950) depicting the tail region of Lethenteron appendix (reported as Entosphenus lamottenii ) and in Fig. 2 in Naseka et al (2009) depicting the tail region of Lethenteron ninae . Additionally, Renaud et al (in press) found the same pigmentation pattern in ammocoetes of Lethenteron alaskense and Lethenteron camtschaticum .…”