Sunday, November 11, 2012

Lamprey!


Sometimes, the physiology of lamprey looks same with eels and sometimes we false toclassification them. But lamprey is not an eels, because they have many different physiologies. Lamprey is a unique fish. It shape is cylinder with flat tail, large eyes and large mouth who always opens. Lamprey looks like a primitive fish. Because it has a “sucker” on their mouth not teeth. The different of lampreys and eels are lampreys are not true fish, while the eels are the true fish. Although both eels and lampreys have scaleless bodies. They are similar to eels because they do not have scales, and the actual size of the body very long. Adult lamprey can reach four feet. They do not have fins, has a great eye and one nostril above their heads, and seven gills on either side of the body length. 
We can find lamprey either on the beach or in fresh water in the tropic and sub tropic sea except in the Africa. There is 43 species of lampreys the people know. Most of them are sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus that we can find in the Atlantic Ocean.
In March until June an adult lamprey will migrate to the river to reproductions. The female lamprey will produce until 300.000 eggs. While the female produce the eggs, the male dig a basin in the bottom of the river. Then they will put their eggs in the basin and after that both of them are dying.
Little lamprey growth from a larva that filters feed plankton with specialized filtering mouth parts. They then metamorphosize into adults (with parasitic sucker mouth)  and usually migrate out to sea. After that lampreys will go back to the river if they want to reproductions.
Lamprey fish called as “the vampire of the fish” because it sucks the other fish blood and they will fall from the other fish after they are satisfied or when the other fish are dying.  
The classifications of Lamprey is...
Kingdom : Animalia
Filum       : Chordata
Class       : Cephalaspidomorphi
Order      : Petromyzontiformes
Famili      : Petromyzontidae
Subfamilies : Petromyzontinae
Besides the lack of the lampreys, they have benefit too. The European and Asian people already using lamprey for food.  In medieval, lamprey known as an elite food because at that time only a rich people are always eating them. And lamprey can use to research. We can study about their primitive and unique characteristic for rich our knowledge.

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