Mordaciidae

Shorthead lamprey

Mordacia mordax

A retinal mirror surrounds one photoreceptor type

• Temperate
• Regional distribution
• Southern Ocean
• Oceania
• Anguilliform
• Medium
• Temperate fish

Mordacia mordax, known as the short-headed lamprey, Australian lamprey or Murray lamprey, is a species of Mordacia that lives in south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. Mordaciidae is made up of three species: M. praedox, M. mordax, and M. lapicida. M. mordax is a relatively rare, parasitic vertebrate and, along with the hagfishes, is part of the only surviving group of jawless organisms throughout vertebrate evolution.