Silly Animal Rhymes — The Lamprey
tribute to a misunderstood creature
by the Lamprey
I’m the fearsome
mysterious
coastal water
vertebrate
legend has it
I’m the last meal
King Henry First
ever ate
ㅤㅤthough this myth has
ㅤㅤbeen disputed:
ㅤㅤhistorical
ㅤㅤreasoning
ㅤㅤholds that the king
ㅤㅤfell victim to
ㅤㅤcommon food-borne
ㅤㅤpoisoning
let’s get back to
the main topic:
my proud race of
jawless fish
we are more than
just a tasty
pie crust filling
royal dish
take a close look
fellow humans —
we have common
ancestry
if you go back
half a billion
annums to pre-
history
ㅤㅤlike mosquitoes
ㅤㅤwe are known as
ㅤㅤbloody micro-
ㅤㅤpredators
ㅤㅤbut we only
ㅤㅤattack other
ㅤㅤfish, not beasts with
ㅤㅤhides or furs
use our rings of
sharp teeth to latch
onto unsus-
pecting prey
dig three horny
plates on the tips
of our tongues in-
to their flesh so
that they cannot
get away
so — in closing
please be kind and
avail yourself
of these facts:
lampreys are not
eels — we’re nearly
forty species
only half of
which are vicious
carnivorous …
further, circa
three-hundred and
sixty million-
year-old unchanged
biologic
artefacts!
thanks to Emma Clarke, whose informative article on lampreys and their spinal cord regenerative abilities directly inspired me to revive my Silly Animal Rhymes franchise
more deep-sea educational silliness:
