Evidence of Native Lamprey Parasitism on the Eastern Hellbender

The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis Daudin, 1803) is a large, fully aquatic salamander that inhabits river systems in the United States from southern New York, to northern Georgia, and west to Missouri. In New York, the hellbender is only found in two drainages: the Allegheny and Susquehanna Rivers. Hellbenders play an important role in stream ecosystems as both a predator and prey species (Humphries and Pauley, 2000). Like the hellbender, the Ohio lamprey (Ichthyomyzon bdellium Jordan, 1885) is native to the Allegheny River drainage. It is a parasitic, jawless fish that predominately parasitizes stream fishes (Cochran and Jenkins, 1994). In New York State, the lamprey is listed as a species of greatest conservation need, while the hellbender is listed as a species of concern (Carlson, Daniels and Eaton, 1999;