The Greek lamprey (''Caspiomyzon hellenicus'') (also known as the Greek brook lamprey) is a species of

jawless fish Agnatha (, Ancient Greek 'without jaws') is an infraphylum of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, consisting of both present (cyclostomes) and extinct (conodonts and ostracoderms) species. Among recent animals, cyclostomes ...

in the

Petromyzontidae The northern lampreys (Petromyzontidae) are a family of lampreys. Northern lampreys have the highest number of chromosomes (164–174) among vertebrates. Genera * '' Caspiomyzon'' * '' Entosphenus'' * ''Eudontomyzon'' * ''Ichthyomyzon'' * ''La ...

family. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s and freshwater

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. This species may be better included in the genus '' Caspiomyzon''. It is the most endangered species of lamprey. It lives only in the Strymon and

Louros Louros ( el, Λούρος) is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipal ...

river basins.

References

* Freshwater fish of Europe Fish described in 1982 Endemic fauna of Greece Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Petromyzontidae {{jawless-fish-stub