a native lamprey of New Zealand, also found in Australia and southern South America. Lampreys have three stages to their life-cycle. The first stage after hatching is the ammocoete, coloured muddy greyish-brown, which lives burrowed into the substrate in freshwater and is a filter-feeder. The following stage four to five years later is the macrophthalmia (pictured here) which is much more colourful. It migrates downstream to the ocean where it remains for another three or four years, feeding as a blood-sucking parasite on larger fish, before coming back to freshwater to spawn and then die. When they migrate back to freshwater the adults turn from silver and blue to a drab brown.
Photo taken 6 July 2010.
The macrophthalmia in this photo is about 10cm long. Adults grow up to 75cm. Photo of an adult is here:
http://www.zoochat.com/399/nz-pouched-lamprey-geotria-australis-30665/
