The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-24

THE MUaDE 2oUS LAKE LAMPREY OF
CENTRAL NEW YORK.

1t Is Said to lie the Most Blood
thirsty md Fcrocious Animal In
the World-How 1t Attacks, Mains
and Kills Its Victims.
What is the most bloo1thirsty and fero-
cious animal in the world? Not the lion,
nor the tiger, nor any relatives which are
theirs. 1t is the lake lamprey of central
New York. This animal is not an eel;
most naturalists recently have denied him
admission even into the class of fishes.
The most they will grant is that he is q
Gshlike animal. The lamprcy is the low
est form of animal life in which tho ami
NAL has q backbone or. as the naturalists
would say, is vertebrate, which is found
in this region. The adult life of II lake
lamprey is about three years, and he de-
votes that time to killing fish, drinking
their blood and eating their flesh He is
not only bloodthirsty, but he is lazy. To
save himself the trouble of swimming he
will attach himself to the bottom of IL boat
going in the direction he wants to travel
or to some fish which he does not particu-
larly fancy, but which will do for trans
portation purposes, and hang on until he
HclS 10 Ills UGSlIllSltlOll,
ing on the transportation fish.
The lake lamprcy has n mouth bigger
than his head. and the mouth is armed
with rows of sharp teeth. pointed like the
teeth of u tiger. Around the disk of its
mouth the animal has soft membrane,
which reatlily fits tightly over any object
by suction when the pistonlike tongue is
drawn back, making u partial vacuum
Then it saws away with the sharp pointed
teeth which clothe its tongue and chcwS
with the $50 other teeth which stud its
mouth until it has worn through the thick
skin or scales of its victim. Thus it drinks
blood and eats flesh until the fish dies or
the lamprey decides to change its dict by
attacking another species of fish.
Lamprcys hunt individually, male and
female alike killing and manning right
ard left. Besides the dead fish which are
found in the lakes of central New York
killed by the lamprcys hundreds are found
swimming about either coTcred with sears
II horribly mutilatcd, SO that their death
is only II question OF short time.
Professor Gage says that the lamprcy
does as much to reduce the stock of food
fish in Lake Cayuga as the work of all the
fishermen combined. And yet WHOM the
cutthroat isn't occupied i'll crime his ca
Eacity for innocent enjoyment and his
pleasures in domestic life arc just as great
rs those Of any other animal. About the
middle of April the male lamprey leaves
the particular victim upon which he has
been feeding and starts up some stream
running into the lake to establish home.
Mr.. II. A. Surface of the department of
vertebrate zoology OF Cornell university, in
summarizing Professor Cages story Of the
life and adventures of the lamprey, says:
1T not infrcqucntly occurs that from the
natural inclination of the stream or from
some of mans Instructions there are rap
ids or dams to be surmounted. Nothing
daunted, the lamprey swiIns up just Us far
as possible by Il tremendous effort, grasp
ing stone or other object so that he can
not be carried down stream again, rests
for awhile and by powerful bending and
strengthening of the serpentine body a
leap is made in the right direction, and
what is gained is saved by again fastening
the mouth to fixed object. This goes on
until the obstacle is sur1nounted. II 1t is
not too great Then without delay the
lamprey pushes up stream until clear wa
ter and numerous ripples are found. Just
above some ripple the lanprcy begins to
make ready q secure place for new gen
Grafton"
The male arrives first and begins the
nest building He takes up stones with
his strong mouth, nicely arranges them rs
u foundation and generally prepares things
for housekeeping. He works hard for
few days, and then Mrs Lamprey arrives
to help put the new house in order. The
pair labor away until they have construct
ed basin, or in some cases a ditch, across
the bed of the stream. Then the lamprcys
are at home.
When the eggs are laid they sink to the
bottom, and tho lampreys cover them up
with sand, using their tails as shovcls
When the young lampreys are Matched
they burrow in the sand like small angle
worms 1t is ut least two years before
they are old enough to go down to the
lake and take up the predatory life of their
ancestors Mr.. Surface says 1t is posi-
bly, from the habits of young lampreys
that the authors of our First Readers
justified themselves in the statement Ecls
live in the sand. "
Now, while the terrible lake lamprey
devotcs all his life to eating except his
brief period of housebuilding and domcs
ITCHY, there is another kind of lamprey
found in central New York which has
never been known to eat at all. This j.
the brook lamprey, which is never found
in the lakes, but is common in small
streams. 1t is supposed that he does ali
his eating before he becomes real lam
prey-in the larval period, as the scien
fists say-and is never hungry aftcrward
AS it takes him two or three years to de
velop into real lamprcy and he lives onl,
few months after he is developed, this
seems likely, or it may be that when bt
grows up and sees the horrible gluttony OF
his lake cousins he is so disguised that ht
deliberately starvcs himself to death.
The lamprcy tribe does not seem to b.
able to do anything i'll sensible and mod
crate manner. Here are two first cousins
one of whom starvcs himself to death ana
the other of whom kills and eats every
thing he comes across. The lamprcy's
original and normal home is the sea, ant
it exists in its original form today III tn,
seas which wash the shores of Europe nnC
North America 1t is not, however. the |
mutton fish. or ling, which the fishermen
in the salt waters about here call lampreys
but fishlikc animal, more resembling it, |
cousins of the lakes in form In the
changes of tho earth's periods the salt ST;
lamprey found itself landlockcd in tn |
fresh water lakes of central New York
might have gone up there to spawn whe1 |
q river connected the lakes with salt waite
and have been caught there by some clos
ing UP of the stream by which it had dr l
seconded At any rate. it hrs been able
adapt itself to u fresh water life the yc;.
round and has grown. as the years 20 or |
smaller in size and more uniform in color
to become the ravcnous. bloodthirsty an
NAL it is.
Sea lanprcys are sometimes used IS Zoo,
now and used to be esteemed dclicacie>; 1
Henry of England is said tG have dice l
from eating too many lampreys.-N0w l
York Press.
Social Paradox.
1t seems strange that 4 fellow isn't 'h
the swimn WHOM society throws him ovor