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The Danube lamprey has a typically eel-like form, a greyish blue to greyish brown back, yellow sides and a yellow or white belly. The adult lampreys attach themselves to both living and dead fish with their suctorial mouths and feed on the blood and flesh of their prey. On the suctorial mouth, between its edge and the three pairs of inner side plates, there are numerous minute teeth. These together with the tooth-bearing plates and tongue form a natural rasp which breaks up the skin and muscles of the dead fish or of the living prey.
The lampreys spawn en masse in the spring and it seems likely that the majority die after their first spawning. The larvae hatch after three to six days, depending on the temperature of the water. They live in the sand and mud at the bottom of the upper reaches of large and small rivers, where they feed on debris and also on small invertebrates. The Danube Lamprey is not a migratory species.
The larvae are blind for their eyes are covered with skin; they have triangular mouths and their fin borders are poorly developed. Larval development takes four to five years, after which time the larvae metamorphose. In June or July, the adults become sexually mature. However they do not spawn until the spring of the following year.
Synonym: Lampetra danfordii Size: 15—25 cm Weight: 40-60g Fecundity: 2,000-3,000 eggs
Distribution: The upper reaches of the River Danube and also in its tributaries.
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