- Sea lampreys are similar to sharks in the way that their skeleton is completely made up of cartilage. There are seven rows of tiny gill openings located behind their eyes that they use to breath through.
- The reason sea lampreys are so dangerous is because they have a suction cup mouth that is lined with horny sharp teeth that make it possible for them to latch onto fish and suck the blood and body fluids out of their prey. -They also secrete an anticoagulant to prevent their prey’s blood from clotting. |
Fun Facts:-One lamprey kills about 40 lbs. of fish every year.
- In 1829 engineers completed a canal that they thought would bring economic growth in the upper midwest, but they accidentally provided a passage for sea lampreys to prey on new victims which by the 1930's had killed 10 million pounds per year of trout and decimate other species. |