Discover the Unusual: Top 9 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Sea Lampreys

1. Nature's Aquatic Dracula

Behold the sea lamprey, nature's aquatic Dracula with a penchant for extreme makeovers: These blood-sucking, suction cup-mouthed fiends not only use their mouths for their vampire-esque feeding habits, but also for latching onto fish and surfaces for navigation, coupled with an impressive ability to swim backwards and a remarkable life cycle that begins in freshwater and culminates in the salty embrace of the ocean.
Source => homework.study.com

2. Ancient Bloodsuckers

Ready to suck the life out of a party like an unwanted guest, the sea lamprey could easily be the Dracula of the deep: Proving that old habits die hard, this jawless bloodsucker boasts an impressive fossil record dating back at least 360 million years, steamy prehistory full of lampreys clinging and draining their way to the status of history's oldest vertebrates.
Source => sciencedaily.com

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=> Fun Facts about Hagfish

3. Dating Deception

Sea lampreys aren't just bloodsuckers, they're also masters of deception on the dating scene: Female sea lampreys can tell the difference between the scent of male suitors and the odors of lamprey "children," using a pheromone antagonist to avoid awkward nursery encounters during their search for a mate.
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

4. Cartilage Superheroes

Step aside, Iron Man - there's a new superhero in town, and they're all about the cartilage life: Behold the mighty Sea Lamprey! This fascinating, fearsome fish has a pharynx supported by a branchial basket made of fused branchial arches, showing us that you don't need a mineralized skeleton to rule the underwater world. The real power lies within their flexible viscerocranial and neurocranial elements that allow them to snack on their prey more efficiently than a midnight fridge raid.
Source => pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

5. Old-Fashioned Survivors

If you thought your grandma was old-fashioned, get a load of these ancient, jawless wonders: Sea lampreys have not only weathered through four major extinction events but have also remained virtually unchanged for over 340 million years, sporting a cartilage-based skeleton instead of a bony one.
Source => glfc.org

6. Baby-Making Machines

When it comes to making babies, sea lampreys may just be the Duggars of the underwater world: These slippery, sucker-faced creatures can lay a whopping 100,000 eggs at a time, securing their notorious status as invasive baby-making machines in the Great Lakes.
Source => glfc.org

7. Underwater Vampire Attacks

If Dracula were a creature of the deep, we'd call him the sea lamprey: A single sea lamprey can kill up to 40 pounds of fish every year with its suction-cup mouth, armed with razor-sharp, horny teeth that latch onto unsuspecting fish to suck their blood and body fluids. This underwater vampire has put numerous commercially valuable fish species in the Great Lakes under siege, leading to strict control measures to prevent their deadly feasts.
Source => oceanservice.noaa.gov

8. Devastating Fish Vampires

Like a toothy, underwater vampire with a penchant for fish, the sea lamprey lurks beneath the waves: This peculiar parasite uses its suction-like mouth and sharp teeth to latch onto innocent fish, secreting an anticoagulant that wreaks cytolytic havoc, allowing it to single-handedly decimate up to 19.3 kg of fish in the Great Lakes.
Source => fws.gov

9. Procrastinating Parasites

Vampires of the deep, curtain twitchers, and procrastinating parasites: sea lamprey larvae take their sweet time to embrace their inner Dracula, feasting on detritus and plankton innocently for three to ten years before taking a bold leap into their parasitic teenage years. Once they finally accept their destiny, these aquatic bloodsuckers gleefully latch onto unsuspecting host fish for twelve to eighteen months of relentless sanguinary indulgence.
Source => glfc.org