Australian brook lamprey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Australian brook lamprey |
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The Mordacia praecox, also known as the Australian brook lamprey or nonparasitic lamprey, is a special type of freshwater fish. It lives in rivers in southeastern Australia. Unlike some other lampreys, it does not feed on other fish.
Australian Brook Lamprey
What Does It Look Like?
The Australian brook lamprey has a thin body. It looks a lot like an eel. These lampreys are usually about 12 to 15 cm long. They have two small dorsal fins on their back half. Their skin is dark blue on top and grey underneath.
Their eyes are quite small. You can find them on the top of their head. Even though they live in dim, low-light places, their eyes can still see different colors.
Where Does It Live?
For many years, people only knew about the Australian brook lamprey in two rivers. These were the Moruya and Tuross rivers. Both are in southern New South Wales. Sadly, it is thought that they disappeared from these rivers between 1995 and 2003.
But don't worry! More groups of these lampreys have been found. They live in the Wallagaraugh River. This river is on the border between New South Wales and Victoria. They have also been found over 1000 km north. These new places include the Maroochy, Fraser Island, and Water Park Creek areas in Queensland.
Scientists think there might be even more lampreys. They could be in the Macleay and Richmond river regions. These are in northern New South Wales.
Life Cycle
Most lampreys spend part of their lives in the ocean. But the Australian brook lamprey is different. It spends its whole life in fresh water.
Baby lampreys are called ammocoetes. These larvae take about three years to grow up. It can be hard to tell the young ones apart. They look very similar to the young of another lamprey, M. mordax. However, adult Australian brook lampreys are easy to spot. You can tell them apart by their size and color.
