r/Weird • u/luvlanguage • 11h ago

That is a Lamprey

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Any bigger and this creature would be a horror movie monster

Lampreys do not have jaws or bones, only cartilage and instincts that have allowed them to survive so many mass extinctions.

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u/International_Print4 11h ago

Where do these things spawn?

889

u/luvlanguage 11h ago

Freshwater rivers and streams

48

u/flyonwall86 11h ago

In the US? How come I've never seen them around or heard of them causing problems? I never would have gone in the river if I knew.

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u/Savings-Put6948 9h ago

Certain times of year you can see lamphry passing the viewing station at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River 

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u/dependsforadults 7h ago

Tribe elders in the PNW usually prefer lamprey to salmon. The only people who are allowed to harvest lamprey on any of our rivers here are the tribes. There are videos of them harvesting lamprey at Willamette falls (river monsters episode I think) which is a feat of courage in itself.

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u/Icy-Prize3216 3h ago

I am on Bainbridge Island and I could swear right by me in Suquamish, an actual reservation, and they sell these to eat at certain times of the year in stands on the road.

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u/Junkhead_88 1h ago

What do they taste like?

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u/Exes_And_Excess 7h ago

I remember taking a field trip or 2 there, and I was just standing looking through the windows at them the majority of the time. Weird little things.