A brook lamprey was found by school children, from St Bedes Primary School, during their visit to RSPB Geltsdale on Wednesday 17th July, along with a host of mayfly and stonefly nymphs and fresh water shrimps.
Brook lampreys look superficially like eels, but are in fact jawless fish. They belong to a primitive group of fish that have sucker-like mouths instead of teeth and jaws. The larvae have no eyes or sucker-mouth when they hatch out, and spend the first part of their lives hiding away in the mud of the river bed. They live in rivers and streams. eating algae, diatoms and organic debris by filter feeding. As they mature they stop feeding and develop the sucker typical of a lamprey. Once the adults have spawned, they die.
Jill J