sea lamprey

American  

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 British  

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

---

Etymology

Origin of sea lamprey

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sea lamprey

Surprisingly, they found that the sea lamprey core hindbrain circuit is also initiated by retinoic acid, providing evidence that these sea monsters and humans are much more closely related than anticipated.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 21, 2024

During the 1940s and 1950s, when the region's sea lamprey populations reached their peak, they decimated fisheries, wiping out livelihoods and wreaking havoc on the lakes' ecosystem.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2022

Their numbers in the Great Lakes plummeted in the last century with the invasion of sea lamprey, an eel-like parasite that attaches to fish and sucks their bodily fluids.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2021

Yearly assessments continue to show improvements in fish populations with lower wounding rates of fish by sea lamprey and more older, larger trout and salmon.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 13, 2020

This cannot be the mustela of the antients, which is supposed to be the sea lamprey.

From Travels through France and Italy by Smollett, T. (Tobias)