Here's another post where in the short time Olive was waiting on her White Pudding Supper at the Golden Haddock, Arbroath, I saw a Redshank catch a lamprey. I'd only ever seen one lamprey before, a River Lamprey I accidentally foul-hooked while fly-fishing on the South Esk in the Cottage Pool above the Lurgies, it was a much larger "fish". The Redshank had a Brook Lamprey a small species reaching only around 5.5 inches, hindered by its bill it tried hard to kill the lamprey only to attract a Herring Gull which didn't mess about.
Some information about the extraordinary creatures lampreys are is added at the bottom of this post.
This Redshank had caught a Brook Lamprey just where the Brothock Burn meets the sea, in Arbroath
Not the best bill design for despatching a wriggling lamprey
In stepped the big guy, a Herring Gull, easily chasing off the Redshank. You can see the lamprey's yellow eye in this photo
The very flat underside of the head hides the "mouth" which had multiple blunt teeth
This photos shows the mouth
Lesser black-backed Gull (yellows legs)
Great black-backed Gull pale legs and a bill like a bricklayers bolster (chisel), seen at the harbour smashing edible crab shells
Lampreys are often called "living fossils" because they have remained largely unchanged for over 360 million years—meaning they were swimming in Earth's waters long before the first dinosaurs appeared.
They belong to the superclass Cyclostomata, making them some of the most primitive vertebrates alive today.
1. Anatomy: The Original Jawless Fish. Unlike almost all other fish, lampreys lack scales, fins in pairs, and, most notably, jaws.
The Sucker: Their mouth is a circular, suction-cup-like disc. In parasitic species, this disc is lined with concentric rows of sharp, horn-like teeth and a "rasping tongue" used to scrape away host flesh.
Skeleton: They have no bones. Their entire skeleton is made of cartilage, similar to sharks and rays.
Breathing: They have seven distinct gill pores on each side of their head, which often look like extra eyes (leading to the nickname "nine-eyed eel").
2. The Three-Phase Life Cycle: Lampreys have a fascinating, often years-long journey from mud-dwellers to ocean travelers.
Ammocoetes (Larvae): They begin life as blind, toothless larvae buried in the silt of freshwater streams. They stay here for 3 to 10 years, filter-feeding on algae and detritus.
Metamorphosis: They undergo a dramatic change where they develop eyes, their signature silver/grey color, and their specialized mouths.
Adulthood & Spawning: * Parasitic types (like the Sea Lamprey) migrate to the ocean or large lakes to feed on fish.Non-parasitic types (like Brook Lamprey) actually stop eating entirely once they reach adulthood. They live just long enough to swim upstream, spawn, and die.
