Photo of creature stirs controversy online

upi ^ | Feb. 24, 2013

[JoeProBono]

NEWARK, N.J., - A photo of a creature caught in a New Jersey river has been stirring controversy on the entertainment website Reddit over whether or not it is Photoshopped.

The picture was posted on Reddit about a week ago by a user called "jlitch" with the headline "Friend also caught this fishing in NJ," The (Newark, N.J.,) Star-Ledger reported Sunday.

Since it has been posted, it has been viewed more than 1.2 million times and has received more than 2,000 comments, some of which questioned the authenticity of the photo.

Jlitch posted additional photos three days that shows a wider shot of the fisherman who snatched the animal using a bow and arrow to quell the Photoshop rumors.

The website Outdoor investigated the photo and said the creature pictured is likely a sea lamprey, an eel-like parasites with a mouth full of jagged teeth.

Sea lampreys start their lives in The Great Lakes and move to the sea and have been more recently moved into streams in New Jersey.

[sockmonkey]

Can they bite you or suck your blood like leeches?

[JoeProBono]

Lamprey Pie

The Lamprey Pie consists of this baked eel-like fish, set in cool syrup and covered with a large raised crust.

Most royal families of England were particularly fond of lampreys, as it was considered a delicacy at the English Courts. The tradition was for the people to present the monarch with a lamprey pie every Christmas. Baked lampreys were cooked in a syrup inside the pie. When the crust was opened, the liquid was mixed with wine and spices, and then spooned onto slices of white bread in a dish warmed over a chafer or hotplate. The lamprey was then cut into "gobbets a thin as a groat," and placed on top of the bread and sauce.

The City of Gloucester, in token of their loyalty to the royal family, presented a lamprey pie annually at Christmas to the sovereign. This was sometimes a costly gift, as lampreys, at that season, are very rare. The custom was discontinued in 1836, except on the occasion of coronations, because of the cost.

[sockmonkey]

Never mind, I just read this:

Their tongue has little teeth on it too, and since sea lamprey can’t bite down, they flick their sharp tongues in a circular motion to gain traction ...

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

“Sea lampreys start their lives in The Great Lakes and move to the sea and have been more recently moved into streams in New Jersey.”

They are distributed throughout the world. Who knew they originated in the great lakes?

[yawningotter]

More a case of forced perspective to make it look bigger than it really is.

[miele man]

Paging Mr. Gere, paging Mr. Gere.

[fatima]

Is that real.I’ll never eat in Russia.

[longfellow]

Are the Klinton’s the other?

[winodog]

What do they eat to get that big? I don’t recall ever being told.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

I believe they breed in streams and rivers that feed the Great Lakes.

[cripplecreek]

They do but they aren’t native to here.

[JoeProBono]

[shibumi]

The photo is real. It’s supposed to be a can of herring.

Methinks something else got mixed in with the catch.

[JoeProBono]

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Send it to Castaway Kulis in Bedford. Get it freeze dried and mounted!

[dfwgator]

I think I saw that on the Academy Awards last night announcing the nominees for Best Picture.

[Kartographer]

Super Sized Gagh!

[gattaca]

The episode on X-Files comes to mind, The Host. It’s about a man who turned into a fluke.

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Somebody finally poked Whoopie Goldberg’s va-jay-jay.

[JoeProBono]