Lampreys are known for being parasitic, and while the Australian brook lamprey has hundreds of teeth, it doesn't feed on other animals.Beneath the freshwater creeks of the world's largest sand island, an elusive and ancient creature darts along the gritty riverbed.
The species was first identified in the 1960s in two rivers on the New South Wales far south coast but is now believed to be extinct from that area. "They were such an unusual find in this part of the world that we had a lot of trouble convincing the experts that they were actually resident … and not just occurrences from individuals swimming up from down south," principal scientist at Queensland's Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, David Moffatt, said.
"They have this sucking disc and around the outside of it is a myriad of little, tiny teeth, which are used to form a seal and to suck onto an animal in the parasitic version," Mr Moffatt said.It is a far cry from other lamprey species, such as the sea lamprey in the Atlantic Ocean, which can grow to 1.2 metres and kills up to 18 kilograms of fish each year."They're also known as vampire fish.
"If you can figure something out in a lamprey brain … it will really help figuring out something in a more sophisticated organism's brain, such as a human." "By understanding what happens in the lampreys, what turns on this process of biliary atresia in their genes … perhaps we can work out a remedy for infants who haven't had their liver processes switched on yet," Mr Moffatt said.
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