Sea Lamprey

Sea Lamprey

Sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus), commonly called lamprey eels, are not really eels because they lack jaws. Instead, lamprey have a circular, sucking mouth. Their sucker lips attach to the side of a fish and punctures the skin with its sharp, rasping tongue. As the fish bleeds the lamprey sucks in the blood for nourishment. Lamprey eels have been a problem for fishing industry in the Great Lakes. [BM] {FW}