Fish of the Day 39 - I got that lamprey in me

Today's fish of the day is the lamprey! Oouggh.. grody!!

Their mouths look terrifying but once you see their face, it's not as bad. They look like plungers.

Lamprey facts:

- This nightmare of a fish is much closer to a vampire than the vampire squid - the last entry - and it's much scarier as well. The lamprey latches onto the sides of fish and sucks out their blood like a leech. And if it wasn't already scary enough... you can find these things in the ocean AND in freshwater!

- This fish must be bad at making decisions, because it can’t decide whether it wants to be good or bad. In its normal habitat, where they belong, they are keystone species. The ecosystem would be unbalanced without them! The lamprey larvae filter feed and help clean the water, and the adults build nests that can provide homes to other fish. But… They can also become incredibly invasive species when they’re outside their homes. Their parasitic nature can really pack a punch to other fish species. Only one in seven fish that are attacked by a lamprey end up surviving, so imagine how much of an impact it would have if lampreys just showed up in an ecosystem that isn’t suited for them. Too late, you don’t need to imagine! They’ve invaded the great lakesssss!!!!!

- The lamprey is sometimes called the “lamprey eel” which is VERY insulting to me as an avid eel lover. These things are regular fish, and even though they do have an elongated body, they aren’t Anguilliformes!! This is the electric eel all over again! Stop spreading mis-eel-formation!!

- These things don’t have fins or jaws… which makes sense, they let the fish they’re hooked onto do the swimming. And… their mouth is basically a sucker, it wouldn’t work if it had a proper jaw anyway!

- The Great Lakes Fishery Commission was apparently formed thanks to how evil these fish are. This is worse than the urchins!

How dastardly!! I don't like these fish that much, but they look funny. Do you got that lamprey in you? If this is like, your spirit animal, that can't be good.