Vampire Fish - Lamprey

Sea Lamprey
Image from www.glfc.org

1. Lampreys are jawless fishes.
2. The adults have a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth.
3. They suck blood from the flesh of other fishes.

Lamprey's lifecycle
Image from www.glfc.org

4. This is found mainly in temperate rivers and coastal seas. Some species live in fresh water for their entire lives. Yet others get hatched and grow in fresh water, migrate to the ocean to mature, and then return to fresh water to spawn.
5. Lamprey larvae are toothless and blind.
6. The adults die soon after spawning.

Lamprey's mouth
Image from sciencedaily.com

7.  Parasitic lampreys feed on prey as adults by attaching their mouth parts to the target animal's body, then using their teeth to cut through surface tissues until they reach blood and body fluid. Hence got the name 'vampire fish'.
8. Two other fish exist which also have been nick-named 'vampire fish'. These are Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa), a genera of parasitic catfish native to the Amazon river and Payara (Hydrolycus scomberoides), a species of gamefish native to Venezuela.

Gabor Degre | BDN
University of Maine researcher Steve Coghlan holds a sea lamprey .
Image from bangordailynews.com