Lampreys
(sometimes also called lamprey eels) are an order of jawless fish-like
vertebrates, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking
mouth, feeding parasitically on the blood of other fish. Against this
backdrop, the eerie looking ellike creature above is suggested(not ascertained)
to be a giant sea Lamprey, caught mid-February in the Raritan River, somewhere
in northern New Jersey, USA. Sea lampreys
latch onto their prey, and then secrete digestive fluids that slowly eat away
and break down the host. They typically grow to 2.5 feet in length, but some
sea Lampreys have been documented at sizes of up to 3 feet long. Sea lampreys
are a native to the Atlantic Ocean and are found along the U.S. Eastern
Seaboard and the coast of Europe, as well as in the Great Lakes, where it is
considered an invasive species.
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