A new species of eel-like fish has been uncovered in the rivers of California.
A University of California, Davis study published in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management found two new species of lamprey, a type of ancient fish.
Lampreys are a type of boneless, blood-sucking fish, distinguishable by their long, sucking mouth filled with teeth. The species is jawless and dates back over 350 million years.
While the species can be found across many different states, the discovery of two new species in California points that they are more widespread here than biologists thought. Before this research, there were eight known lamprey species living in California.
"We found diversity that has never been reported," Ph.D. candidate Grace Auringer, who is the lead author on the journal paper and a member of the UC Davis Genomic Variation Lab, said in a summary of the study's findings. "We found two groups of fish in Napa River and Alameda Creek that are very genetically different from other samples along the West Coast. This is a really understudied group of fish."
To reach these findings, the Davis lab studied 19 areas in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River basin, San Francisco Bay and Klamath River basin. They then went on to determine whether current estimations on the species matched up with the actual distributions of the species.
The two new species were found to be part of the Lampetra genus.
This discovery is very important, as for a long time scientists believed their population to be declining in the Western U.S. The Lampetra genus, and the Entosphenus genus, are both classed as being "of special concern" in the state. They face a number of threats, including habitat degradation and water pollution.
"The amount of diversity that we saw is quite remarkable. This opens up endless possibilities for future study," Auringer said. "I think it's very important to identify and learn about these unique populations before we lose them."
This research can help inform on populations and species distribution so that biologists can better protect the species. They are hugely important for local ecosystems and food webs, as well as being culturally significant for Indigenous people.
The fish's larvae feed on algae and other organic matter within bodies of water, which helps to filter and clean. Without the species, water quality would decrease.
Adults also transport nutrients throughout the water after giving birth. Their importance to the ecosystem highlights the need for more research into the species, so that they can be better protected.
"Healthy trout streams in California often have lamprey, so conservation measures benefiting lamprey also benefit trout," Amanda "Mandi" Finger, the associate director of the Genetic Variation Lab, said in a press release.
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Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
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