KOTKA MARETARIUM
Lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis
The lamprey is not a fish, but one of the most primitive known vertebrate. It belongs to the class of Agnatha and is unrelated to cartilaginous fish or bony fish. Lampreys are parasitic; using their circular mouth (resembling a suction cup); they attach themselves onto fish and suck their body fluids for nutrition. Adult lamprey live in the sea for a few years and then migrate in to fresh water streams to spawn, at which point they are about 25-30 centimetres. Their offspring spend between 3-5 years in streams before they undergo a metamorphosis and return to the sea as adults. There is also a lake form of lamprey, called Brook Lamprey, which inhabits inland waters.
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