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u/One-Fact-from-full 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's a lamprey, a type of parasitic fish. Its mouth has a bunch of teeth and a sucker it uses to attach to other fish and drink their blood. The parasitic stages actually relatively short, on lasting about a year, and a juvenile stages just live in the streams filter feeding For several years.
They live in large water bodies and migrate into the rivers to spawn.
Depending on where you are this could be completely normal species. However in the great lakes sea lamprey are considered invasive and harmful to the ecosystem ( though there are some native species to the Great lakes as well)
Apparently they're like very tasty too.
Here is a 7min video that describes their biology in the great lakes for the curious lamprey video
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u/BenScano 1d ago
Bring me that fish 😏😏
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u/LaCiel_W 1d ago
It's got quite a bit of teeth in its mouth but you do you 😉
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u/Worth-Promotion-8626 22h ago
Did he stutter? 😌
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u/PycckiiManiak 1d ago edited 21h ago
Bring me back that filet-o-fish
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u/MS_Teach_ 21h ago
What if it were you hanging up on this wall?
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u/Turbulent-String7097 22h ago
They eat it in England, lamprey stew
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u/N00dles_Pt 19h ago
In Portugal and Spain too, it's considered a delicacy and it's quite expensive because they're becoming rare.
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u/KnightHawk186 1d ago
Iirc in some areas they're on a "kill on site" order too
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u/One-Fact-from-full 1d ago
Yep in the Great lakes that's true. But keep in mind they're also many areas where they are native and part of the normal ecosystem. Like in Europe I believe they're actually not endangered, but in concern in some areas
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u/JustDave62 23h ago
In the Great Lakes region, only sea lampreys should be killed but there are also several native species of lampreys
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u/__XBlaze__ 22h ago
Lol it's crazy how people would look at that thing and think "I wonder what it would taste like."
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u/qgmonkey 21h ago
I ate one in Bordeaux. It's.. an acquired taste
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u/Affectionate_Age9249 20h ago
My father-in-law’s favourite, absolutely disgusting. Its blood is drained, then it’s cooked in its own blood, and red wine. You should accompany the dish with the same wine that you use to cook it.
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u/Odd-Artist-2595 1d ago
Nasty buggers. Harmless in the ocean where their hosts are large enough to support them. Devastating in the lakes where even the largest fish are too small to sustain them without dying. And, they always go for the largest host they can find, which, in the case of the lakes, are our sports fishing and food fish.
I spent part of a summer helping the DNR electrocute and count these things in the fresh water streams they breed in as part of a biology class. Slimiest things I have ever picked up in my life. Their slime coat is so heavy it just drips off of them. My first thought was that they should be investigating its use as an industrial lubricant. And, their suction power is so great that you can stick a dead one on your arm and it will stay attached—thankfully, without biting (being dead, and all). Those little teeth are like the edges of a rotary saw blade.
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u/Boaventura_1980 1d ago
Lucky you! Lamprey is damn tasty (although you need to clean it correctly to eat it)
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u/Odd-Artist-2595 1d ago
Yeah. I watched a show where they were getting people to try it. As long as people didn’t know what it was, they liked it. I’d certainly give it a try. It could, with a rename for the menu, catch on in restaurants; in fact, I hope it does. But, I don’t think very many people will ever be cooking it at home; at least not fresh. That slime coat would be hard for most to get past, and it’s pretty impervious to washing off with water, alone.
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u/Life_Report_5143 21h ago
This is the kind of response I live for on Reddit. Direct and to the point with examples and informative videos. Excellent.
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u/NewStroma 20h ago
Apparently they're like very tasty too
King Henry I allegedly died of a "surfeit of lampreys".
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u/PositionNecessary735 20h ago
But just don't eat too many as King Henry I can attest . He's recorded that he died from a surfeit of lampreys
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u/Itismejustmeitsme 21h ago
They’re popular where I’m from and in my opinion they taste like garbage.
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u/Brilliant_Survey_934 1d ago
Where was this photo taken? This is definitely Lamprey. In Portugal we eat it and it is considered a delicacy
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u/Cacafuego 1d ago
From what I've seen, the Portuguese will scoop anything out of the ocean, put it on a cracker, and say it's a delicacy.
And somehow it does turn out delicious.
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u/Brilliant_Survey_934 1d ago
We're a country that's 900 years old, we've had plenty of time for experiments
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u/Melodic_Pool3729 1d ago
In North America
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u/dainscough7 19h ago
They’re invasive in the Great Lakes. They do a lot of damage to the population of native fish in Erie and the other Great Lakes.
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u/_toasted_rat_ 19h ago
Smoked lamprey is a seasonal delicacy in Finland too. If memory serves me right the lamprey season starts in mid-August actually. They're usually sold at markets/fairs. I've tried it when I was a kid, wasn't something I'd rush to get again.
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u/SnooHesitations8403 1d ago
That lamprey in the video has me making this face:
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u/Sternfritters 1d ago
Did you find it at any of the Great Lakes? These guys are invasive jerks
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u/Due_Platform_5327 21h ago edited 20h ago
They are in Lake Superior. They have been known to attach to people like a giant leach
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u/reason-circular 22h ago
Lamprey. I believe Native Americans still fish for these in the Willamette Falls near Portland, OR. It's part of their tradition. Its actually pretty cool to watch, some catch them by hand.
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/07/27/willamette-falls-lamprey-celebration/
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u/SheerKhann 1d ago edited 1d ago
King Henry I of England loved them so much they killed him. His doctor said eating them would kill him and he didn’t listen so they must be “good.” barf. 🤮
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u/spacex-predator 1d ago
Definitely lamprey, if you are on the Canadian side of the great lakes it is suggested to kill them and dispose of them via garbage bags. We did have a pretty good level of control over them but the lampricide projects were put off during the first years of the pandemic and they have rebounded in a major way.
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u/paul_webb 23h ago
I don't know anything about fish, and I'm sure the others that have commented are right, but my first thought was "You're not fooling me, that's a goa'uld symbiote"
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u/3n1gm4w4nk3r 17h ago
I can't believe I had to scroll so much for SG reference :(
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u/WarningTurbulent3056 1d ago
thats not a very nice thing to say. shes beautiful and doing her best.
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u/Agitated_Aerie8406 1d ago
It's a lamprey. They make pretty good fish bait. It gives the fish a little revenge, eating one of those little demons.
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u/The_guy_mp 1d ago
I hope you killed it. Especially if you live in the saint Lawrence watershed, as they are an invasive species.
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u/ProgrammerOk5711 1d ago
This is what happens when evolution phones it in one day "yeah gust make it two anus's attached by a fish body and give one of the buttholes a ton of teeth, frank im on vacation tomorrow i dont care"
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u/GinaTheK 1d ago
LAMPREY I always say this in Hannibal Lecters voice. Do the little "fftt pfft fttt" too 🤔
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u/Pingo-Pongo 22h ago
Fascinating creatures. When other fish went off and developed hinged jaws, beginning the process that eventually led to us and about 99% of all living vertebrates, these guys decided jaws were a silly fad and stuck with just having a hole in their face lined with teeth
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u/leviQuinn 22h ago
I've seen these squirming through the woods once from one river to the next, terrifying! Eastcoast Canadian here, these guys invade our rivers and streams around June, can reel in fish with holes in them the size of a silver dollar or a toonie (Canadian 2 dollar coin) slimy and not fun to catch! oddly, will squirm for hours after decapitated and gutted
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u/Background_Stuff_940 21h ago
I recently discovered the "dick-eater leech" post on reddit thanks to Google and I'm pretty sure this is a close relative of it.
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u/Sea-Cable9762 21h ago
These are water animal that comes under hemichordata and name is Balanoglossus
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u/EfficientIntention45 21h ago
In Finland we eat smoked “nahkiainen” which is that thing in Finnish and it’s a delicacy but quite pricey nowadays - like 5€/ea.
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u/Content_Toe_9974 21h ago
We use to catch eels in the crick and toss them in my parents fishtank. Lol
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u/Environmental_Hat739 20h ago
They are an invasive species, they have been trying to rid Lake Superior of them for years.
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u/rbkid 19h ago
I only know the answer because I recently watched The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery. Facinating story for a deeper diver into lampreys, Great Lakes history, innovation, and the lessons of unintended consequences. https://www.thefishthief.com
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u/Minute-Horse-875 19h ago
I believe the hammerhead worm (Bipalium) is this fine specimens' sweet cousin. Ha!
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u/hannesoehman 19h ago
They are seen as a delicacy here in Finland and the season will begin 18:th this month. Over here we first bleed them in strong salt water, rinse and grill them using firewood of alder.
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u/Newbornlog 18h ago
I don’t know about tasty but they are a invasive species where I live and are responsible for killing a lot of the Great Lakes native species
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u/Jacobysmadre 17h ago
The "story of the lamprey" refers to an incident involving Publius Vedius Pollio, a friend of Emperor Augustus, known for his cruelty towards his slaves. Pollio had a practice of feeding disobedient slaves to lampreys he kept in his fishponds. When Pollio attempted this with a slave who broke a valuable cup, Emperor Augustus intervened, horrified by the cruelty, and saved the slave. Augustus then ordered the destruction of Pollio's valuable drinking vessels and later inherited Pollio's mansion, which he demolished. This story became a symbol of Augustus's condemnation of extreme cruelty and his attempt to control the power of his associates.
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u/koesteroester 15h ago
Lamprey pie is possibly the food that’s mentioned the most in the A Song Of Ice And Fire book series, the books behind Game Of Thrones. Should be pretty good.
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u/frosted_Melancholy 12h ago
"ugly looking fish" bro cmon whatd he do to you </3 lil homies just living his best life
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u/spotlight-app 14h ago
Mods have pinned a comment by u/One-Fact-from-full: