Lamprey is a fish? Who are lampreys? Lamprey river: where it lives, what it eats, how to catch, how to cook River lamprey is dangerous for humans how to cook

The predatory lamprey has anadromous and residential populations. It differs from the closely related brook lamprey Lampetra planeri primarily in its larger body size and sharp teeth (blunt during spawning), smaller eggs, and the functioning of the intestines in adult fish.

There is 1 tooth along the edges of the maxillary plate, usually 7 teeth on the mandibular plate. The upper labial teeth numbering from 4 to 13 are scattered in disarray. There are 3 internal labial teeth, of which the upper and lower are two-parted, the middle one is three-parted. There are no external lateral teeth. By the time of spawning, the dorsal fins become taller and touch, the females have an anal fin, and the males have a urogenital papilla. Running lampreys have a metallic bronze color, in the river they become dull and dark blue.

Outwardly, the lamprey resembles an eel, which is why in some places it is called "eel lamprey". The shape of her body is narrow and long, up to one meter in length. There are too many differences between the lamprey and ordinary fish, which is why it is more often called a marine animal.

1. Serpentine body shape, lack of scales, lack of paired fins on the chest and abdomen. In the center of the head there is a nasal opening, and one located in front of the eyes. The mouth of the lamprey is similar to the mouth of a leech - the same ring-shaped.
2. On the long and narrow body of the lamprey on each side, in small grooves, there are seven gill openings, for which it is sometimes called a seven-hole. The leathery sacs in these holes are lamprey gills. This also distinguishes it from other fish.
3. In connection with the structure of the gills, the breathing process of a predator also has great differences from other fish. If the fish pass water containing air through the mouth, then in the lamprey it enters and exits through the gill openings on the body.
4. Most important difference, nevertheless, is that the lamprey lacks bones and ribs, its vertebral column, as in sturgeon fish, is a vyazig (chord), but less developed. But the head of a predator consists of cartilage.

Lamprey inhabits the river basins of the North and Baltic Seas from France and England to Sweden, Finland and Karelia. Separate populations outside the main range are found in Italy.

In Russia, it enters spawning in the rivers of the Kaliningrad region and the Gulf of Finland (Neva, Narva, Luga), known from the basins of Lake Ladoga and Onega. It is possible that in the Ladoga and Onega lakes there is a resident form of lamprey that lives at depths of 50-100 m. 90s of the 20th century.

Fans can also catch lamprey in the Volga ( Caspian lamprey) and on Far East(Pacific lamprey, as well as the Far Eastern river, Siberian stream). In each region, the rules for its catch should be clarified.

Lamprey weight and dimensions

Sandworms (lamprey larvae) live in rivers and streams up to 4-6 years, reaching 8-15 cm in length. Individuals migrating for spawning have a maximum length of 48 cm and a weight of 150 g, residential forms of large lakes - 33 cm and a small form - 25 cm.

Lamprey lifestyle

These predators lead a rather secretive lifestyle. Since they do not have a swim bladder and paired fins, lampreys mainly live on the bottom, one might say, crawl on it. In the daytime, it is almost impossible to find a lamprey that has stuck to a stone or snag, or buried in mud, especially at a time when it does not stray into flocks. A large number of lampreys can be observed in the period before spawning, then it is easy and prey to catch it. The lamprey travels along the bottom in order to get food, namely: some organic substances that are in the silt, dead and living fish and animals. Therefore, it is useless to catch lamprey on a worm or insects.

On the ring-shaped lip of the lamprey and on its jaws is located a large number of teeth, with the help of which the predator, like a drill, makes a hole in the skin of the victim. Then the tongue, on the front edge of which there are also teeth, eats into the hole, making piston movements. Pisces with normal structure gills, this way of feeding is not suitable, since they are forced to pass water through their mouths in order to breathe. Lampreys lead a sedentary or completely motionless lifestyle, which serves as proof that their main food is carrion (no need to rush after it).

In this regard, the lamprey is a fairly easy prey for larger predatory fish, especially for those who also live at the bottom: catfish, burbot, eel. The stomach of the latter can accommodate more than twenty lampreys.

Lamprey spawns from spring to early summer, depending on the habitat and water temperature. These unusual fish where the river is deep and the current is very fast and the bottom is covered with pebbles. When spawning time comes, the lampreys gather in flocks and start building nests. Their nests are oval-shaped depressions. Construction starts males. The male sticks to the pebbles and then, leaning on the tail part of the body, picks up the pebble and moves it some distance from the nest. When the place is ready, it clings to a stone in front of the nest, and, making snake-like movements with its body, makes a depression, scattering stones and sand to the sides of the nest. The female is also involved in the process, she circles over the nest all the time. Swimming over the male, she descends and touches the head of the builder with her belly, as if expressing approval of his work. The male, in addition to being busy organizing the nest, carefully monitors that there are no other males around. If this happens, he rushes at the invader, sticks to him and pushes him away from the construction site.

When the male has done his part of the work, the female takes over. The lamprey also sticks to the stone and makes the hole deeper, scattering sand and pebbles with sharp movements of the body. When the place for laying eggs is ready, the female again clings to the stone in front of the nest, and the male lamprey clings to her. First, he attaches himself to the side, where the first fin is located with his back, and then moves with the help of a sucker to the crown of the female, while wrapping around her. They produce milk and eggs at the same time. Spawning exhausts predators, and they go to dark places with a small current, where they hide under stones and snags, where they soon die.

Ways to catch lamprey

Where lamprey fishing is permitted, it is caught using nets and traps. It is clear that, having such a peculiar nature of nutrition, lampreys are not caught on the usual gear. For catching river lampreys, traps such as netting or nereda are placed very close, tightly to each other. Along the migration path, lampreys install a structure consisting of stakes that blocks the movement of lampreys. Traps are attached to it.

In our time, another way to catch lampreys has appeared - with the help of underwater lighting. It was invented on the basis of knowledge about the intolerance of this fish to bright light. Barriers are lowered into the river on both sides powerful flashlights designed to work underwater. Lanterns, or spotlights, are blocked from the sides with metal shields. Thus, they illuminate the entire river, except for a small corridor where the light does not penetrate. Lamprey tends to this dark area and falls into the set traps.

• Lamprey larva is used for bait when fishing for bream, ide, burbot, pike and other fish. It is not difficult to get it, just washing the coastal silt through a sieve.

River lamprey is a fish that looks like a huge worm. Despite its far from attractive appearance, it is becoming more and more popular as a fishing item for fishermen, since residents of so many countries use lampreys for food.

Whether a fish or not

Due to their long (sometimes up to 1 meter), snake-like and mucus-covered body, lampreys are very reminiscent of eels. Due to their peculiar physiology, zoologists do not classify them as classic fish, classifying these primitive vertebrates as a special class of cyclostomes.

A special feature of this strange-looking fish is the absence of paired fins and bones. The skeleton consists of cartilage, and the spine replaces the flexible rod. Her gills are also unusual, there are 7 gill openings on the sides, for which the river lamprey received another name among the people - the seven-hole. Three eyes on her head also do not add to her attractiveness. The rounded mouth is the same as that of a leech. It plays the role of a sucker, with which the fish can stick to stones or snags. River lamprey is a predator. About a hundred teeth located at the edges of the mouth allow it to make a hole in the skin of the victim and eat into it with the help of the tongue, which also has a row of teeth.

Lamprey is mainly found in freshwater rivers and coastal sea ​​waters. The movement of these animals to the open sea is not so rare. It occurs in the river basins of the North Sea, along the coasts of Italy, France, Norway, and England. In Russia, it often comes to spawn in the rivers of the Gulf of Finland and the Kaliningrad region. Especially on the Baltic coast, river lamprey is common, where it lives almost everywhere. Less common in the rivers of Belarus, single specimens are present in the Neman, Zapadnaya Dvina.

Lamprey lifestyle

Despite the fact that this fish is a predator, it moves very sluggishly. Such slowness is explained by the fact that the basis of lamprey nutrition is made up of dead animals and fish, as well as organic substances, which are mainly in the silt. Therefore, chasing a prey to catch it is not necessary. Lampreys manage to move long distances by sticking to any fish. Then her victim serves not only as a source of food, but also as a means of transportation.

On the other hand, such a sedentary lifestyle makes the lamprey an easy prey for other predators living in the water, especially such as burbot, catfish, eel, which live at the bottom of the river.

Sometimes lamprey (fish) poses a danger to fishermen.

The photo of river fishing, which is captured at the time of catching lamprey, shows well how to hold this predator so that it does not sink its teeth into your hand.

The basis of nutrition

Spawning

Lampreys become sexually mature when they reach a length of 20-25 cm. The ascent into the rivers occurs in spring - from the end of May to mid-June, when the water warms up to 12-13 degrees. Migrations are carried out mainly at night, because due to the negative reaction to light, the course of the lamprey depends on the phase of the moon - dark night it's more intense. During the period of caviar maturation, the body of the fish undergoes some changes. The teeth become more blunt, the dorsal fins increase, the intestines degenerate.

The male is in charge of building the nest. With his body, he clears a small area at the bottom of the river (up to 50 cm wide), removing even stones from it. Sticking to them and immediately jumping back sharply, he manages to take them out of the nest. He can also push out an uninvited guest in the form of another male.

By the time construction is completed, a female appears at the nest. Having stuck to a stone, she lays eggs. The male at this time wraps his body around her and helps squeeze out the eggs, pouring milk over them. At the end of spawning, both producers hide in a dark place and die.

River lamprey has a fecundity of 16,000 to 40,000 eggs, pear-shaped and about 1 mm in size.

Peskoroyki

After about 2 weeks, small (up to 3 mm) larvae appear from the eggs. They differ significantly from adults in both appearance and behavior, therefore they are separated into a separate species called sandworms.

Already after 3 days they double in size and begin to burrow into the silt, screwing into it with snake-like movements of the body and taking a vertical pose. After 3 weeks, the sandworms slide to places where the current is slower, and burrow into the ground there, where they actively feed on diatoms. Before the larvae become true lampreys, they will undergo many more metamorphoses.

Human danger

Cases when lampreys attack people are extremely rare. More often it happens that a predator can attack by negligence, mistaking a person for a fish. However, river lamprey is dangerous to humans because, when bitten, it releases a substance that prevents blood clotting. Doctors recommend in such cases to immediately consult a doctor to prevent the possibility of destruction of red blood cells and prevent tissue breakdown.

Features of lamprey fishing

There are many hunters for this fish, because for more than one thousand years people have been eating it, despite its creepy appearance. Moreover, this delicacy was previously available only to very wealthy citizens.

River lamprey is caught with a variety of gear. Many experienced fishermen know how to catch it with the help of a net, seine and other traps. These devices block the river, placing them close to each other and attaching them to the installed stakes.

Lamprey even in industrial scale quite often caught with the help of the muzzle (beetroot). This tackle is a cone up to 80 cm long, consisting of metal or plastic rings. Its wide part, where there is a funnel, is plugged with a cork, and such a structure is installed on the bottom of the river. The fish, getting inside, can no longer get out. Thus, up to 50 lampreys can get into it in one night.

Today, experiments are quite successful when river lamprey is caught with the help of electric light. Special lights for underwater lighting are installed in such a way that the entire body of water is flooded with light, except for the area along the core of the river, forming a dark corridor. Due to the negative reaction of the lamprey to light, the fish begins to move along this unlit area, falling into the traps placed there.

The nutritional value

River lamprey is quite highly valued for its nutritional and palatability. Its calorie content is approximately 88 kcal, which is 4% of the daily requirement. Of these, 70% are proteins, 18% are fats, carbohydrates in the composition are 0%. This is one of the fattest fish in the world. Lamprey meat contains vitamin PP and minerals such as nickel, molybdenum, fluorine, chlorine and chromium. Due to the fact that fish lacks bone tissue, bile, and food residues in the intestines, it can be consumed whole. Lampreys are fried in special ovens, after which they are sometimes also marinated. Such a product is especially popular in the Baltic States.

Culinary processing

Very carefully it is required to approach the process of preparing dishes from this fish, strictly following all the recommendations for preparing it for eating. The fact is that the mucus that the river lamprey is covered with is dangerous for humans, because it is very toxic, therefore, it is first washed thoroughly and for a very long time. At the slightest sign of the appearance of a white color on the fish, it should be thrown away immediately, otherwise there is a high risk of poisoning. Fresh lamprey should have clean gill openings and a flexible body. The washed carcass is covered with salt at the rate of 3 tablespoons per kilogram of fish and left for half an hour, then it is thoroughly washed again under running water and gutted. For this difficult procedure, it is better to use nail scissors, making an incision in the direction from the tail to the head and removing the small intestine. After gutting, the fish must be thoroughly washed again.

Recipes

So that the remains of poisonous mucus do not penetrate into the body of the fish during cooking, the lamprey is only fried. This method guarantees the complete destruction of toxins, which are completely destroyed at temperatures above 80⁰С. Fried lamprey should be eaten immediately after cooking, because it cannot be stored for a long time. If it was not possible to eat the fish immediately, then it is poured with specially prepared jelly to protect it from air ingress.

Before frying, cut the prepared fish into 5 cm pieces, rinse again and put on a paper towel. After waiting a bit until it dries, roll in flour and fry on both sides in hot oil. Then the marinade is prepared. Without it, fried river lamprey is not stored for a long time. How to cook it? There are several ways. The simplest is when sugar, salt, cloves, pepper and Bay leaf pour water in an amount of 500 ml and bring to a boil. Then pieces of fried fish are placed there, boiled again, a little vinegar is added and set for 2 days for pickling.

River lamprey is also cooked in the oven. The recipe is pretty simple. Place the pieces of fish on a dry baking sheet and put in the oven for half an hour, heated to at least 180 ° C. Put the finished lamprey on a plate. To the remnants of the juice formed during cooking, add a little hot water or dry white wine, apple cider vinegar, mix and pour over the fish with this sauce. The dish is ready to eat. Bon appetit!

Lamprey is the name of a whole group of lower vertebrates, and they are included in the class of cyclostomes. Lampreys form only one order, which is called lampreys, and in this order there is only one family, which is called lampreys. Within the family, there are about four dozen species, among which there are both river and sea. Some species of fish have become very rare, for example, the Ukrainian lamprey, which is shown in the photo below. Lamprey is a fish that is of commercial importance to humans.

Appearance and variety of lampreys

There is a wide variety of lampreys, but two main forms of fish can be distinguished: the river lamprey and the sea lamprey. They are very similar in appearance, but differ greatly in size. You can verify this by looking at the photo. The first photo shows a river lamprey, the second - a sea lamprey. The only significant difference is the color of the sea fish.

The river lamprey has a cylindrical body that does not have paired fins. During spawning, females grow an anal fin. By spawning, all lampreys, regardless of gender, have high dorsal fins, and their teeth become dull. The fish from the back is painted in a dark, almost black color, and the sides are cast in silver, while the abdomen has almost White color. Running representatives of this family are painted in a metallic bronze color, but when the fish enters the river, it changes color to dark blue and matte.

Of particular interest is the oral apparatus, which is shown in the photo below: it is because of it that the fish is dangerous to humans. The edges of the plate on the upper jaw have one sharp tooth each, while on mandible 7 teeth are located. There are 4–13 teeth on the upper lip, they are scattered randomly. There are 2 internal labial teeth, and there are no external lateral teeth. In the photo of a marine inhabitant, the mouth of the lamprey is identical to the river.

The sea lamprey also has a cylindrical body. The mouth funnel is round, there is a fringed edge. The front of the body of the fish has seven gill openings. Coloring can be different: it depends on where it lives. amazing fish. Usually there are individuals with a light gray or light green body color. But it is not uniform: a black pattern can be discerned throughout the body, like a natural mineral - marble.

Lamprey larvae grow up to 8 or 15 centimeters in length, it takes them 4 to 6 years to do this. The transitional lamprey has maximum size 48 centimeters with a weight of 150 grams. Large residential lamprey forms reach a length of 33 centimeters, and small ones - up to 25 centimeters. Lamprey sea - the most large view, which reaches a length of about 1.2 meters with a maximum weight of 2 kilograms and 500 grams.

Distribution and habitats

The river form of the lamprey is common in the river basins flowing into the Baltic and North Seas. Lampreys are found in Karelia, Finland, Sweden and England. On the territory of Russia, this fish is found in Onega and Ladoga lakes, in the rivers Luga, Narva and Neva, Voronezh. There are individuals at a depth of up to 100 meters.

Marine forms are found mainly in the coastal waters of the seas. They are found from Gibraltar to Iceland, and also up to White Sea. There are populations in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast North America. There are no lampreys in the Black Sea. Sandworms, as fish larvae are called, live in rivers that flow into the seas for several years, and only then they swim away to live in the sea.

Diet

reproduction

The small lamprey reaches sexual maturity when its body length reaches from 18 to 25 centimeters, very rarely this happens at a length of 12.5 centimeters. River forms remain for spawning in rivers, and sea ​​fish rises from the coast along the rivers. While the lamprey rises along the river, it changes externally and internally: caviar, milk ripens, the intestines stop working, turning into a narrow strand, they stop working. salivary glands, which are located in the oral funnel. The fins on the back increase, the distance between them is reduced, the male papilla is formed, and the anal fin is formed in the female. The lamprey's teeth become blunt.

Spawning begins in May or June when the water temperature rises to 10 or 14 degrees Celsius. Rocky rifts become spawning grounds. The female lays from 4,000 to 40,000 eggs in a nest made by the male. Lamprey spawning is group, therefore, together with the female, up to 6 males swim up to the nest: eggs from two females usually fit in one nest. Caviar has an oval shape, and its size is approximately 1 millimeter. Lamprey spawns once in a lifetime, after which it dies.

Lamprey caviar is in incubation period from 13 to 15 days at a temperature of 14 degrees, and up to 13 at a temperature of 17-18 degrees Celsius. Sandworms hatch after fertilization on day 11 or 14: a photo of a lamprey larva is presented below. The larva of the river lamprey is also called the spindle. Larvae for humans resemble worms a little over 3 millimeters long, their body is painted in a light yellow color.

Sandworms, so called because they like to burrow into the ground, hide between pebbles and stones, where they lie motionless for several days. At this time, they feed on the yolk that they have left after hatching: it is concentrated in the liver area. The lamprey begins to burrow into the soil when its length is 6 millimeters, it lingers in silty sections of the river with a small current, but often it is carried downstream. The color of the lamprey merges with the color of the bottom. The larvae are fed by filtering water through internal filter filters.

Marinated lamprey fillet - a delicacy

Lamprey fish (Petromyzontidae) is an unusual resident sea ​​world, its appearance does not look like a fish in our standard representation. It looks like a large worm or eel about 100 cm long, although it does not belong to either one or the other. The body of the lamprey is naked, covered with mucus. On the head of the fish there are three eyes, parietal and 2 lateral, as well as 7 gill slits on the sides.

biological structure lamprey determines their belonging to primitive vertebrates. Zoologists have identified this fish in a separate class of cyclostomes, which includes about 40 species of lamprey fish currently known (calorizator). It is worth noting that scientists have found irrefutable evidence that already at the dawn of civilization, people knew such fish as lampreys.

Lampreys live in the waters temperate latitudes, both in the southern and northern hemispheres of the planet, and are also found in the Arctic Ocean.

The calorie content of lamprey is 88 kcal per 100 grams of product.

Composition and useful properties of lamprey

Lamprey fish meat has a rich chemical composition and stands out with a high percentage of fat. Like other types of fish, lamprey is useful primarily for its vitamin and mineral composition. Lamprey meat contains a large amount of trace elements useful for the human body, such as fluorine, chlorine, sulfur, as well as chromium and molybdenum.

Lamprey in cooking

In our time, lamprey fish occupies a special place in the culinary of many countries and is an important commercial fish. This fish is especially loved in the countries of South-Western Europe, and more precisely in Portugal, Spain and France (calorizer). But the popularity of lampreys led to the almost complete destruction of some species.

Fish lend themselves to various types cooking. Lamprey can be fried, baked, boiled, but most often it is consumed in canned or pickled form.

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Is it possible to eat lamprey

Lamprey - special kind commercial fish, which is found both in rivers and in marine areas. Individuals living in the sea are much larger than river lampreys, but otherwise they are very similar. The main feature of lampreys of any kind is an unusual oral cavity, literally dotted with large sharp teeth.

In fact, lamprey meat has a very delicate taste and is considered by professional chefs to be a delicacy product. True, there are still some nuances of eating it, but they are associated with another feature of the fish body.

The fact is that the body of the lamprey is covered with mucus, which is poisonous and can harm a person upon contact with the skin, and even more so if it enters the stomach. This circumstance must be taken into account when deciding for yourself whether it is possible to eat lamprey or whether it is better to refrain from such treats.

How to Cook Lamprey Safely

In culinary tradition different peoples traditionally living in the habitats of this fish, eating lamprey is quite widespread. In any case, the inhabitants of the Black Sea region, without even thinking, will answer the question of whether it is possible to eat lamprey in the affirmative. You can cook lamprey in different ways. Most often, it is fried, having previously been cut into pieces 5-7 cm thick. But no less tasty lamprey is obtained when baking. There are also recipes for pickling this fish.

However, in order for such food to be truly safe, the caught fish is subjected to a special treatment, the main purpose of which is to remove poisonous mucus from the surface of the fish. To do this, a fresh carcass of lamprey is abundantly sprinkled with salt and carefully rubbed into the skin. After that, the fish is placed in a bowl and poured cold water, which should completely cover the lamprey. After 10 minutes, the liquid is drained, the fish is washed under a strong stream, as a result of which mucus is removed from the body along with salt. This procedure must be repeated several times.

One important nuance - to get the best result, you must use coarse dark salt. Edible salt, which is a monotonous mass of crushed crystals, is not suitable for these purposes.

Some chefs who specialize in working specifically with seafood offer to improve the lamprey preparation process. In this case, after the first treatment with salt, it is recommended to place the fish in a regular plastic bag and refrigerate for about an hour. Then the carcasses will need to be thoroughly rinsed again in running water, after which they will be ready for cooking.

The lamprey gutting procedure also has its own characteristics. First, her head is cut off, which will require a well-sharpened knife, and then the insides are removed through the resulting hole, without cutting the sides or belly of the fish. At the final stage, the carcass is cut into pieces.

Cooking features

Speaking about whether it is possible to eat lamprey, it is impossible to ignore the features of its preparation. The simplest recipe is fried lamprey, but in order for the fish to reveal its unusual taste, it is recommended to slightly marinate it before heat treatment. It is best to use red wine for this, in which the fish must be kept for about a day.

Immediately before frying, prepared pieces of lamprey should be rolled in a mixture of equal amounts of salt and flour. The pan should be well heated and generously greased. vegetable oil. It is necessary to fry the blanks on both sides, but not more than 4-5 minutes, so that the meat does not lose its tenderness and juiciness.

The baked lamprey is very tasty. Pieces of fish are laid out on a baking sheet covered with special baking paper, lightly sprinkled with lemon juice and sprinkled with flour. In this form, the lamprey is sent to the oven, which by this time should already warm up to 180 degrees. The cooking time for this dish is 30-35 minutes.

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What is useful lamprey

The lamprey actually only looks like a fish, but in fact it is a lower vertebrate animal that lives in aquatic environment. She got her name from German word nine-eyed. This animal has 7 gill openings on its side, which are similar to the eyes.

What is useful lamprey.

• This is perhaps the fattest seafood. Up to 30% of the weight of this animal reaches the mass of adipose tissue. This adipose tissue is a source of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Omega 3 is good because it effectively fights against high level cholesterol and helps in the prevention of the development of atherosclerotic lesions of the walls of blood vessels. In addition, they have a certain anti-inflammatory effect. Omega 3 reduces inflammation and improves the condition of patients with inflammatory joint diseases.
• It contains a lot of fat-soluble vitamins A and D. Vitamin A is a strong antioxidant, also helping to fight inflammation. Vitamin D is good for our skeletal system, because. without it, calcium is not absorbed in the intestines, which leads to the appearance of osteoporosis. Also regulating the balance of calcium in the body, it affects the functioning of the neuromuscular system. IN Lately it turned out that this vitamin is an immunomodulator, i. helps the immune system to function properly. It activates T-lymphocytes that fight antigens and foreign bodies. 100 grams of this animal help replenish daily allowance this beneficial vitamin.

By the way, herring and mackerel are also rich in vitamin D and 100 gr. these fish will also be able to replenish the daily supply of the vitamin.

How to choose it The carcass should be shiny, and the eyes should not be cloudy. You need to buy either fresh or fresh-frozen carcasses. The peculiarity of lamprey is that fresh it can be covered with mucus, which is poisonous to humans and therefore it must be soaked before cooking. If the carcasses are frozen, then this procedure no longer needs to be done at home.

How to save Since it has a lot of fat, it can be stored fresh for no longer than 24 hours in the refrigerator. Fat on contact with oxygen goes rancid and the dish will already be bitter. If the lamprey is frozen, then it can be stored in the freezer for several months.

How to cook. As mentioned above, it is very important to remove poisonous mucus. It is not worth frying in oil, because. carcinogens are released into the air, it is better to either bake it or steam it.

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Should I be afraid of meeting with a lamprey?

The appearance of the lamprey does not cause pleasant emotions, especially its mouth, surrounded by sharp teeth. And I immediately want to understand: is the river lamprey really dangerous for humans, and how undesirable is it to meet in the water? And this meeting can take place both in the river and in the sea. In 2009, the media reported several cases of lamprey attacks on vacationers in Germany on the Baltic beaches.

It is here, in the rivers flowing into the North and Baltic Seas, that the river lamprey breeds, and adults live in coastal waters. Baltic Sea. It can also be found in Ladoga and Onega lakes. Here it forms a "residential form".

Lifestyle and interesting facts about lamprey

By way of life, the river lamprey is a migratory species, scientifically speaking “anadromous” or “anadromous species”. This term refers to those fish that live in the seas, and enter rivers for reproduction, i.e. make migrations. In large lakes isolated from the sea, “residential lake forms” can form, which do not migrate anywhere, but permanently live in the same body of water, for example, in Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia.

How did the meetings of bathers with lampreys end?

If you look at the photo of the lamprey (her mouth), it immediately becomes clear that a meeting with her does not promise anything good.

Several facts of lamprey attacks on people were recorded in Germany, in recreation areas on the Baltic Sea:

A 60-year-old man who swam in the sea far from the shore was not allowed to calmly “lie on the water” by the lamprey. He lay down on the water with his back down and suddenly felt a stabbing pain and a bite in his back. Grasping his hand over the wounded place, he felt for something long and slippery, stuck to his back. It happened so suddenly that the man was very frightened and almost drowned, but he was able to tear off this “something” and hurriedly swam to the shore.

But soon he was bitten on the left leg. The victim managed to safely reach the shore. The fishermen who were nearby examined the wounds on the leg and back and said that it was probably a large nine-eyed - as the sea lamprey is called in Germany. They assured that lampreys are not poisonous and no special actions can be taken by the victim.

But doctors believe that lampreys are dangerous to humans to a certain extent. Indeed, substances secreted by the lamprey buccal glands enter the wound of the victim, which reduce blood clotting, contribute to the destruction of red blood cells and tissue breakdown. Therefore, even with minimal lamprey bites, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

The injured man was taken to the hospital where his wounds were treated.

Lamprey fish or not?

The part of the article with the description of "horror films" about the attacks of peculiar water "vampires" on people ended and it became clear that the river lamprey is dangerous for humans, but not to the point of death. And now it's time to understand why lampreys can attack humans? This is due to the type of nutrition of these living beings.

Let's first figure out what type of living creatures lampreys belong to.

When they say "lamprey fish", this is not correct. Yes, they also belong to the type of chordates and the subtype of vertebrates, but to another class - cyclostomes.

This name is associated with the shape of the oral funnel, located on the ventral side of the body and seated with numerous sharp teeth. Lampreys are not fish. All fish have jaws, but lampreys do not have them, they are jawless. On this basis, they are easily distinguished from fish. Consider a photo of a lamprey - its mouth funnel and you will see that the head of the lamprey is not at all like the head of a fish.

The river lamprey is a fish-like animal:

• with an elongated naked body, richly covered with mucus;
• without paired fins and two dorsal fins and tail;
• with one unpaired nasal opening;
• with seven gill openings on each side of the body behind the head, therefore they are popularly called semidyr;
• with numerous horny teeth in a round mouth funnel.

These are the main external signs by which any lamprey is recognized. It is also important to remember that the expression "lamprey fish" is not correct from the point of view of biology.

Of all the feeding methods, the adult lamprey uses the most "barbaric": it slowly eats live prey. For several days or even weeks, the fish, to which the hungry lamprey has stuck, slowly and painfully dies.

The mouth of the lamprey is a round mouth funnel similar to a "trap" into which the victim of the lamprey falls.

• Along the edge of the mouth is a leathery fringe, thanks to which the lamprey is able to firmly stick to its prey.
• The mouth opening (actually "mouth") is located in the center of the funnel.
• The muscular tongue, located inside the mouth, is very powerful and acts like a piston, burrowing into the body of the fish.
• Sharp horny teeth are located over the entire area of ​​the funnel, forming a peculiar pattern. The largest teeth surround mouth opening and are located on two plates: maxillary and mandibular - 2 and 7 teeth, respectively.
• There is a large tooth on the tongue - a “grater”, which is a “drill” that penetrates into the body of the victims.

These are the “tools” that the lamprey uses to tightly and for a long time cling to its prey. Thanks for the patience with which you read about how the lamprey eats. There is still some information left on this subject.

She does not use her mouth to breathe. Water passes through a single nostril into the lower part of the pharynx, then into the gill sacs. The lamprey has seven round gill openings through which water escapes.

How and where does the lamprey digest food? Nature took care of this: the lamprey, like all cyclostomes, secretes digestive juices directly into the body of the victim.

This is where the digestion of food begins, scientifically “extra-intestinal digestion”. In many cases, the skin and soft tissues of live fish are subjected to such treatment, which, of course, suffer. It is for this reason (the release of digestive juices into the body of the victim) that lampreys are dangerous to humans, because these secretions contain substances that destroy red blood cells and prevent blood clotting.

All lampreys breed in rivers, even if they feed in the sea. For breeding, they choose deep sections of rivers. Mandatory conditions: pebble soil and fast flowing river.

When lampreys enter the river to spawn, they stop feeding, the sharp teeth on the mouth funnel become blunt and two dorsal fins merge into one. They remain in the river for several months.

In spawning areas, lampreys always gather in flocks. The eggs are laid in nests that the parents build on the bottom. The nest is an oval-shaped hole, slightly elongated. Construction is always started by the male.

Nest building

With the help of a mouth funnel, the male drags the stones far away from the nest building site. He does this work by sucking himself with a funnel to small pebbles and leaning on his tail. After the territory of the future nest is cleared of pebbles, a hole is dug. Having fixed with a sucker funnel for some large stone, the male makes sharp snake-like movements of the body and scatters sand and pebbles to the sides. How it happens - watch the video:

While the male is busy with this important work, the female swims in smooth circles over the nest. Once above the male, she descends to swim and touch the front of her abdomen to the male's head. With this movement, she probably encourages his work.

During construction, the male makes sure that no one approaches this place. As soon as some male swims up to a close distance, the owner of the nest bites into the uninvited guest with a sucker, pushing him out of his territory.

The construction of the nest is completed by the female, which deepens the hole, scattering sand and pebbles in the same way.

Spawning and death of parents

When the construction of the nest is completed, the female clings to one of the stones near the nest. The male clings to the female from the side and, moving the sucker, finds himself near the parietal part of her head. It then wraps its tail around the body of the female. Caviar and milk are swept into the water at the same time.

After prolonged starvation and strenuous spawning, lampreys are very exhausted. They hide under snags, stones and in other places protected from currents and light. Then they die.

Lamprey larvae - gerbils

22,000 adherent pear-shaped eggs are laid on average by one female lamprey. The caviar is large - diameter 12 mm. The larvae hatch 2 weeks after fertilization. The lamprey larva looks like a small pale yellow worm, about 3 millimeters in size.

Among the lampreys there are completely harmless ones that do no harm to anyone. The stream lamprey, unlike the river lamprey, does not migrate and spends its entire life in the river in which it was born. Sandworm larvae live buried in the ground and feed on animal and plant debris - detritus. After 5-6 years, they metamorphize (turn) into adult lampreys, which are smaller in size. larval stage. An adult lamprey fits in the palm of a person.

Adults do not eat at all, having an undeveloped intestine. They are supplied with energy by stored fat. The brook lamprey spawns shortly after the completion of the transformation into an adult form, and then, like all lampreys, dies. Life cycle lasts no more than seven years.

Lamprey - a dangerous but tasty fish

Not every fish gets horror movies. Recently it turned out that lamprey, known since ancient times as a delicacy, is ready to taste a person herself.

Outwardly, it is difficult to understand whether it is a fish. As shows photo, lamprey more like a huge underwater worm.

The predator itself appeared on the planet more than 350 million years ago, and has remained virtually unchanged since that time. It is believed that the lamprey is the ancestor of jawed vertebrates.

Lamprey Features and Habitat

lamprey fish belongs to the order of jawless. The length of the animal ranges from 10 centimeters to a meter. Outwardly, it looks like an eel, sometimes it is called the eel lamprey.

The main difference from other underwater fish is the absence of an air bladder and paired fins in the predator.

In the photo, the mouth of the lamprey

Despite the fact that this is an underwater inhabitant, the lamprey cannot swim due to its characteristics.

Therefore, he usually lives at the bottom. In addition, there are absolutely no bones, the lamprey can only boast of a spinal column and a head made of cartilage.

The predator has only one nostril, but three eyes. True, one is without a lens, and is located just in place of the second nostril.

The mouth is similar in structure to the mouth of a leech: ring-shaped, with a fringe along the edges.

In the jaw of a predator, there are about a centurion of teeth, they are also on the tongue. It is with the help of the tongue that she digs into the skin of the victim.

Also, to the features appearance underwater inhabitants include:

serpentine shape;

lack of scales;

seven gill openings;

the ability to exhale through the gills (this feature allows you to stick to the victim for a long time).

The predator can be found anywhere in the world. It can be stream, sea or river lamprey.

She lives in the Northern Basin Arctic Ocean. And also in the Baltic and North Seas, Lake Onega and Ladoga.

And in other bodies of water. The brook variety is most commonly found in Finland. However, the most popular species is river fish.

The nature and lifestyle of the lamprey

Predators usually stick to the prey, gnaw through its skin with their teeth, and feed on muscles and blood.

More often lampreys attack other underwater inhabitants at night. Their behavior is reminiscent of real vampires from horror films.

By the way, in 2014 the Americans have already made a movie about predatory aquatic inhabitants.

« Blood lake lamprey can now be viewed online for free. The plot is simple, the fish in Michigan are tired of the local diet, and they began to attack people.

It would seem that in the films they will not shoot. However, doctors believe that lampreys are dangerous to humans.

Moreover, cases of predator attacks have already been recorded. In 2009 alone, two Russians were injured in the Baltic Sea.

However, no fatal cases of attacks on humans have been recorded so far. Even Julius Caesar, decided at one time to execute the criminal by throwing him into a pond killer lampreys. But, at first attacking the victim, they quickly let her go.

Due to the fact that the gland of the fish produces a substance that prevents blood from clotting, you need to go to the hospital even with a small bite.

The fish usually move at night. Lampreys do not like light, and are even afraid of it. During the day, you can meet the water "worm" only in muddy water at the bottom of the river.

Most likely, the lamprey is the laziest predator. She leads a sedentary lifestyle. Sometimes it can stay in one place for several weeks.

Due to the calm lifestyle, the fish themselves often become victims of larger predators.

Lamprey has become a delicacy not only for humans, but also for eel and. If the fish is lucky, then she will cling to her offender.

lamprey nutrition

The predator, due to its sedentary lifestyle, is practically omnivorous. Probably, thanks to this feature, the species has existed for more than 300 million years.

The lamprey is ready to feast on any other fish, or an underwater inhabitant that swims near the bottom.

Most often, the underwater “snake” is at the bottom, sticking to a snag, and waiting for the dinner to sail to it by itself.

In addition, lamprey feeds on organic matter and particles already dead fish. Until puberty, predator cubs do not need food at all.

There is a special plug in their esophagus that dissolves only in adult. And the fish can grow up to 5 years.

As noted above, the underwater inhabitant is considered a delicacy. In the past, only the very wealthy could afford it.

Today buy lamprey can be found in large hypermarkets or specialized stores.

This seasonal delicacy appears on the shelves in November-December. It is best to choose live fish.

lamprey recipes there are not many. Most often, the fish is fried and then marinated. It is considered a great delicacy pickled lamprey.

It is worth considering that this is a very oily fish, so it is better to eat it in moderation.

For example, historians believe that the English monarch Henry I died from the abuse of eating oily fish.

Lamprey reproduction and lifespan

Most often, fish spawn in spring and summer. However, it depends on the region and water temperature.

For reproduction, sexually mature individuals choose a deep place in a river with a fast current.

During spawning, predators form flocks. The males begin to build nests. They stick to the stones, pick them up and carry them away from the construction site.

At this moment, females help mostly morally, they circle over the nest, touching the males with their abdomen.

When heavy men's work completed, females contribute. With the help of their body, they clear the bottom from sand and small stones, make a depression.

Once the nest is built, the female will attach itself to a rock at the front of the nest, while the male will attach itself to her.

Up to 6 male fish spawn with a female. Two females can lay eggs in one nest.

Fish spawn at the same time, after which they hide in secluded places and die.

Soon up to 40 thousand fry swim out of the nest. For the first five years, they are similar to ordinary ones, which were identified as a separate species and called sandworms.

It turns out that lampreys live for 5 years like ordinary fish, only they don’t eat at all, after which they turn into peculiar ones, and live until the next spawning.

Roman’;”> Nowadays, not only delicacies are made from lampreys, but also fish oil and a medicine based on it. That's why lamprey fishing in demand.