Living dinosaur: in Australia found 'vampire fish', which is more than 200 million years old

A blood-sucking fish with rows of rotating teeth has been spotted after a 20-year hunt. Writes about it New York Post.

Photo: Shutterstock

Guide Sean Bloxidge, after two decades of searching, in an unusual way discovered six creatures at once, which were dubbed "living dinosaurs."

Strange, jawless creatures evolved millions of years ago, with elongated bodies without scales, and a special mouth known as suckers.

They have a reputation for bloodthirsty creatures, for which they received the nickname "vampire fish".

Bloxidge, 49, had heard local legends about the elusive fish migrating up local waterfalls, but said they hadn't been seen in decades.

He likened his relentless quest to that of the Yeti, or Loch Ness Monster, and couldn't believe his luck when he spotted half a dozen of these creatures.

“It was kind of a surreal moment. “I’ve heard so many stories from the old-timers about how they migrated up the falls in the thousands,” the Australian explained. “But we haven’t seen them in Margaret River for over a decade.”

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“I go out on the river every day on a canoe tour and always hope to see one and this was my lucky day. Yes, I’m a little excited, but also glad to know they’re still here,” he said.

Bloksidge told how he found rare lampreys at Yalgardup ​​Falls, a place where he and his tour groups usually stop.

He described how it all happened: “I looked into the water and noticed a creature, like a long blue pipe, sitting in shallow water. It looked a little odd since we really don't have any debris in the river. I went down to get a closer look, but found half a dozen more "pipes" trying to climb up the waterfall. "

“It turned out that this was the same elusive fish that I had been trying to find for the last 20 years,” he says. “The tour group was delighted because they immediately understood the importance of meeting these creatures as soon as we explained how rare they are.”

Lampreys tend to spend their young lives in fresh water before migrating downstream into the sea, where they dine on other fish as adults.

They return to rivers to breed and spawn before dying.

Blocksage continued: “These individuals look a little like an eel. They have a disgusting appearance, they are akin to dinosaurs - their mouth is filled with tenacious teeth. But in general, lampreys are very beautiful creatures with iridescent blue eyes, quite noticeable gills and a long, smooth and powerful body.”

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This species may be threatened with extinction due to climate change and an increase in the salinity of the water in which they breed.

Bloxidge remarked, “These are living dinosaurs that have been around for over 200 million years, but are in serious trouble due to climate change. Our river system has dried up by more than 20% in the last two decades, and this is affecting them. "

“We had a very wet winter this year and they obviously knew it was a good year to migrate upriver again,” he explained. “Imagine that these species will become extinct in our lifetime - after hundreds of millions of years of existence, and this is possible in the near future.”

Stephen Beatty, a senior fellow at Murdoch University in Perth, praised Blosidge's passion for lampreys.

Beatty said, “It's great that Sean has raised awareness of this unique creature. In terms of evolutionary significance, these are quite amazing animals, and we are really lucky that one of the species appeared in our rivers. "

He told hunters that the best chance of seeing lampreys is on a rainy winter evening.

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