Pouched lamprey
Geotria australis Gray, 1851
The pouched lamprey (Geotria australis) is a fish in the family Geotriidae, order Petromyzontiformes and class Petromyzonti. It is also called the lamprey or wide-mouthed lamprey, and its scientific name was authored by Gray, 1851.
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Quick facts about the pouched lamprey
On the IUCN Red List, its global assessment places it in the Data Deficient (DD) category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Data Deficient (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the pouched lamprey
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the pouched lamprey live?
Not recorded
What is the pouched lamprey?
The pouched lamprey (Geotria australis), also known as the piharau in New Zealand's North Island, korokoro, kanakana in the South Island, or wide-mouthed lamprey, is a species in the genus Geotria, which is the only genus in the family Geotriidae. The second species in the genus is the Argentinian lamprey (Geotria macrostoma), which was revalidated as a separate species in 2020. The pouched lamprey is native to the southern hemisphere. It spends the early part of its life in fresh water, migrating to the sea as an adult, and returning to fresh water to spawn and die.
From the Wikipedia article “Pouched lamprey” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pouched_lamprey&oldid=1332607607), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the pouched lamprey endangered?
The pouched lamprey is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List: it has too little data for its risk to be assessed.
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Data Deficient species.
How is the pouched lamprey classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classPetromyzonti
- orderPetromyzontiformes
- familyGeotriidae
- genusGeotria
- SpeciesGeotria australis Gray, 1851
Synonyms Ammocoetes caeruleus, Ammocoetes coeruleus, Ammocoetes landbecki, Ammocoetus caeruleus, Geotria allporti, Geotria saccifera, Macrophthalmia chilensis, Neomordacia howittii, Petromyzon fonki, Petromyzon onki, Thysanochilus valdivianus, Velasia chilensis, Velasia stenostomus, Yarra singularis
Other names and names in other languages (18)
- LampreyEnglish
- LampreyEnglish
- Wide-mouthed lampreyEnglish
- جلكى جيبيةArabic
- جلكى جنوبيةArabic
- mihule vakovitáCzech
- Lamprea de bolsaSpanish
- Lamprea boca anchaSpanish
- pussinahkiainenFinnish
- lamproie saccifèreFrench
- フクロヤツメJapanese
- PiaMāori
- KanakanaMāori
- PiharauMāori
- UteMāori
- Lampreia-de-bolsaPortuguese
- Австралийская миногаRussian
- ปลาแลมเพรย์ปากกว้างThai
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the pouched lamprey
Other species in the same genus Geotria.
Patagonian lamprey
Geotria macrostoma
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the pouched lamprey?
The pouched lamprey is a fish. It belongs to the family Geotriidae in the order Petromyzontiformes.
What is the scientific name of the pouched lamprey?
Its scientific name is Geotria australis, in the genus Geotria.
Who named the pouched lamprey and when?
The scientific name Geotria australis was authored by Gray, 1851.
Is the pouched lamprey endangered?
Its global IUCN Red List category is Data Deficient (DD).
What other names does the pouched lamprey have?
It is also called the lamprey and the wide-mouthed lamprey.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Pouched lamprey (Geotria australis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pouched-lamprey
“Pouched lamprey (Geotria australis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pouched-lamprey.
@misc{pouched_lamprey_2026,
title = {Pouched lamprey (Geotria australis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pouched-lamprey},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}