Lamprey

an eel-shaped creature. In the animal creation it ranks below the fishes. It is considered the lowest form of life having a brain incased in a skull. The skeleton is wholly cartilaginous. The Lamprey is without jaws, ribs, or legs. There are two dorsal fins. The skin is without scales. The mouth is formed for suction. The gill openings consist of a row of seven small, round holes along each side of the body. The lampreys of American and British coasts are from one to three feet long. They eat worms, snails, insect larvae, dead animals, and the like. They are parasitic also. They attach themselves by their sucker-like mouths just below the pectoral fin of the shad, sturgeon, shark, cod, halibut, mackerel, and other fishes. They suck the very lifeblood out of these fishes. There are several species of brook and river lampreys in American waters. They are not so injurious to food fishes. They are taken in the rivers of New England and salted down for winter use. The brook lampreys heap up a pile of pebbles in which to deposit their spawn. From a habit of holding to a stone with the mouth, to prevent being carried away by the current, the brook lamprey is known among boys as a stone sucker.