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Today on Animal Fact Files we're talking about lampreys. Latch on to the channel by subscribing! Thank you to AestheticNiro for today's request. Lampreys may be similar to the other jawless fish, the hagfish, we have previously discussed, but lampreys are thought to be more closely related to sharks than hagfish. It’s gotta be the teeth…

There are thought to be somewhere around fifty species of lampreys, and they live in temperate waters around the world. Lamprey larvae aren’t able to withstand higher temperatures, so tropical areas tend to be off limits for these freaky fishes. Yeah, they’re fish. I know they look sort of like worms, but they’re fish. Also, apparently they’re sometimes thought to look like eels, but eels are technically also fish, so that shouldn’t even count as a point against them being fish. Just saying. Lampreys are weird, though, in that they only have one nostril. Technically they’re the only living vertebrates with only one nostril. Hagfish also have only one nostril, but nobody really seems to know what those things are…

Lampreys may be found in lakes, rivers, and even coastal waterways. Some species of lampreys are anadromous meaning they move from saltwater up into freshwater to spawn. Other species just spend their whole lives in freshwater. It’s also possible that some species do both, it just depends on their environment. Lampreys begin life as an egg. Male lampreys may attract the attention of female lampreys using acidic bile as a pheromone. The male will construct a nest in the water’s bed by moving stones and obstacles to create a crater-like structure. The female will then lay her eggs within the nest which the male with fertilize. Some species may stay mostly monogamous, but for others egg laying and fertilization can be a free for all. The adults will perish shortly after breeding and the young will be left to fend for themselves. This isn’t a big deal, though, because they’re pretty used to being lonely - unlike Chester who’s literally sitting in my lap as I record this...

After a few weeks, the lamprey larvae emerge from their eggs. They pretty quickly realize the world is a scary place and burrow into the mud for a few years before they metamorphose into adults. See, as larvae, lampreys don’t really look like their adult counterparts. They are mostly filter feeders consuming whatever nutrients they can access at the bottom of the water column - it isn’t until they become adults that they become fish-blood eating mouth faces, and some adults don’t even eat. The adult forms of lampreys are considered parasitic because they latch onto fish and grind away their scales to reveal bloody flesh beneath. These lampreys usually spend a year or two eating fish and growing before reproducing, but some species don’t eat as adults and instead focus purely on baby making.

The largest species of lampreys can be more than two feet (60.96cm) long. Some people see them as a menace because they have invaded non-native areas and destroyed fish populations, but, they’re also pretty dang impressive, as studies have shown that they can have their spinal cord completely severed but after time they can completely regain their swimming capabilities. What do you think?

For more facts on lampreys, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up for awesome fish, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.