Raising awareness of Lampreys

What is a lamprey?

Lampreys are a type of primitive fish.  Although superficially similar in appearance to eels they are not closely related and have quite different, although equally fascinating, life histories.  

There are 3 species of lamprey in the UK (see our ID guide here):

– Brook Lamprey

– River Lamprey

– Sea Lamprey

Lampreys are jawless fish, having instead a sucker-like mouth which they use to attach to hosts (most are parasitic in their adult stage and feed on other fish species – even sharks in the case of sea lampreys) and to help them anchor to the bottom of fast flowing rivers.  Although they all spawn in fresh water two of our species (the river and sea lamprey) migrate back to estuaries and the open sea as adults to feed and reach sexual maturity.

Fossil remains suggest that lampreys have changed little over the last 300 million years making them a true living fossil.  We hope they’ll be around for at least another 300 million years and by sending us your records we can build up a better picture or where they are and find out crucial information such as what might be preventing them from reaching their spawning grounds.