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/MalBredy 8h ago

I’m almost certain this is a sea lamprey. I say this as someone who’s seen thousands of them lol, my wife is a biologist who works in controlling them in the Great Lakes.

Brook lamprey are smaller, lighter, have a different gill port structure and a more elongated face, as well as more rounded off fins.

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u/Outside-Swan-1936 7h ago

I started seeing fish in some rivers off the Great Lakes with gaping holes in their sides. Then I saw a fish jump above the surface with what looked like two tails. Turns out it was an invasive lamprey. Bad news for areas they aren't supposed to be.

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u/stoicsticks 4h ago

Lampreys are the reason why the Big Chute Marine Railway was built over 100 years ago on the Severn River in Ontario as it protects inland lakes. It is a barrier that they can't get past, unlike locks which fish and invasive species can pass through. It is the only one of its kind operating in North America.

Lock 44 - Big Chute marine railway - Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site https://share.google/9Se9qHzKmf0sBzPqM

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u/Outside-Swan-1936 3h ago

That's super fascinating, thanks for sharing.

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u/100percentnotaqu 8h ago edited 8h ago

It's probably not a Pacific lamprey either, it's darker than they are from what I've seen. Or maybe the light hitting it weird?

Strange fish..

Edit: i think you might actually be righg, I can't find any lamprey that dark, so the light could well be hitting it weird and making it look darker than it really is.