sea lamprey

noun

1. Also called vampire fish. a parasitic marine lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, that spawns in fresh water mostly along the Atlantic coasts of North America and Europe and in the Great Lakes, where it is responsible for losses of economically valuable fish.

sea lamprey

noun

1. a common anadromous lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, a form of which occurs in the Great Lakes of N America and causes great losses of fish

Word History and Origins

Origin of sea lamprey¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

One species he longs to add to his menu is the sea lamprey, a slimy, eel-like infiltrator that uses a circle of monstrous teeth to suck out the bodily fluids of its scaled prey.

From Popular-Science

The fish which had fastened on the pollack, was the petromyzon marinus, or sea lamprey.

From Project Gutenberg