It may look like a stick - but Oscar's find is one of earth's oldest creatures
An ancient blood-sucking fish has been found in the Thames by a 13-year-old boy.
The sea lamprey, an eel-like creature with a sucker-shaped mouth surrounded by teeth, predates the dinosaurs.
But they only venture into fresh water to breed if it is very clean, which is why experts said Oscar Bridge’s find is significant.
In the 1960s the Thames was so polluted scientists declared it “biologically extinct” after a survey.
Oscar was taking part in a sponsored clear-up of a riverbank near Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium when he made the discovery.
He said: “All of a sudden I saw this thing and thought, ‘what’s that?’ – “I picked it up and it looked like an eel,” he said. “I did get a shock when I saw the mouth.”
He added: “I really like animals – especially creepy ones like that.”
What Oscar had found proved to be a 15.5in (40cm) long sea lamprey, one of the most ancient creatures on earth.
Like the shark and the crocodile, sea lampreys have barely changed over thousands of millennia.
The Lamprey was dead when found, but this is not necessarily a bad thing – as they usually die immediately after spawning – which would suggest they are breading again in the Thames.
In the late 80s I started investigating UFOs and crop circles and joined the CCCS (Centre for Crop Circle Studies) and a local group researching strange sightings and reports along the south coast of Dorset (UK). In the early ’90s I started my own research group called SPS (Strange Phenomena Studies), this was renamed in 2004 to Cryptoworld.
