What is a zombie fish, and can you eat it?

There is such an animal: it looks like an ordinary eel, but its mouth is cylindrical, it has no upper or lower jaws, and its mouth is lined with sharp teeth. This is the zombie fish. So, what is a zombie fish? Can you eat it?

1. What is a zombie fish?

1. The scientific name of the zombie fish is the lamprey, also known as the eight-eyed eel, seven-star fish, or small cartilage fish. It is an animal of the class Cyclostomata, order Petromyzontiformes. It has no jaw, and its mouth is filled with sharp teeth. This is one of the features possessed by ancient fish ancestors. Therefore, it is a jawless vertebrate and also the most primitive known vertebrate. It does not belong to the same class as fish of the class Pisces, so it is not a fish.

2. The zombie fish has a slender, eel-shaped body, with bare skin and no scales. On its back there is a long dorsal fin, with 2 dorsal fins; the mouth is at the bottom of the funnel, and on both sides of the mouth there are many yellow keratinized teeth; it has one nostril, located on top of the head between the two eyes; the eyes are well developed and have a pineal eye with photosensitive function; behind the eyes there are 7 gill openings on each side of the body; when alive, the back is blue-green and the belly is grayish-white.

3. The zombie fish has no jaw, and its mouth is filled with sharp teeth. This is one of the features possessed by ancient fish ancestors. Its mouth is funnel-shaped, with rows of teeth distributed inside, forming a circular suction cup that can attach to large fish. It likes to parasitize salmon and cod, and sometimes it also attacks fierce predatory fish such as pike and bowfin.

2. Where is the zombie fish distributed?

1. The zombie fish is distributed in Northeast China, Europe, northern Asia, Korea, Japan, and North America. It lives in cold and temperate waters. Some spend their entire lives in freshwater, while others live in the sea in their early years and, after growing up, swim into freshwater rivers to spawn.

2. The zombie fish is divided into five types: the American brook lamprey, sea lamprey, Japanese lamprey, Northeast lamprey, and Arctic lamprey. Among them, the American brook lamprey mainly lives in streams in the northeastern United States; the Japanese lamprey is distributed in the Heilongjiang River, Tumen River, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East; the Northeast lamprey is distributed in the Yalu River, Taizi River, Hun River, Biliu River, the Jiamusi section of the Songhua River, and northern Korea.

3. During the day, the zombie fish burrows into sand or gravel, and at night it comes out to feed; the larvae live in freshwater, dig burrows at the bottom and live there, feeding on microorganisms; adults use their suction-cup-like mouths to attach to other fish, use the keratinized teeth on both sides of the inner mouth and on the tongue to rasp through the fish body, and suck its blood and flesh.

3. Can zombie fish be eaten?

Zombie fish can be eaten.

1. Since the Middle Ages, the upper classes of Europe have regarded it as a delicacy. Documents record that King Henry I of England loved to eat it, and today, in some countries in Southern Europe (France, Spain, Portugal, etc.) and South Korea in East Asia, it is still considered an expensive famous dish.

2. The meat of the zombie fish contains more vitamin A than ordinary fish; the skin contains more vitamin B1 and vitamin B12, also far higher than other fish; eating it has the effects of calming the liver and improving eyesight, and nourishing and strengthening the body. It can treat night blindness, dry cornea, and facial paralysis.

The zombie fish is not a fish. It is a jawless vertebrate and also the most primitive known vertebrate. It is an intermediate point in the evolution from invertebrates to fish, and can be regarded as one of the most primitive types of fish-shaped animals. Zombie fish can be eaten, and in some countries in Europe and East Asia, it is still an expensive famous dish.