Spooky Seas: 340-Million-Year-Old Jawless ‘Vampire’ Creature Discovered in Wales

A shocking discovery has been made in the waters near the Welsh coastline. Craig Evans, a forager, came across a creature that can only be described as a beast straight out of the popular Netflix series Stranger Things.

The creature, identified as a Sea Lamprey, is believed to be around 340 million years old and can grow up to two feet in length, Knewz.com reported.

Sea Lampreys are known for their circular mouth and terrifying teeth that are specifically designed to suck the blood of their victims.

Evans took to Instagram to share his find, posting pictures of the dead Sea Lamprey. In his post, he revealed that the creature spawns in freshwater and feeds on tiny algae and microorganisms before migrating to the sea to prey on larger fish.

"These wonders of nature spawn in freshwater, feed on tiny algae and microorganisms until they migrate to sea to prey on larger fish," the fisherman wrote in the post.

"Its fearsome mouth attaches itself to the side of the fish and sucks its blood etc," he continued. "This one was around two feet in length and weighed around a kilo – I was fortunate enough to stand over a number of these spawning in fast-flowing water about a foot deep."

Describing the encounter, Evans wrote, "After spawning in June, they all die... I've seen many of these over the years, and the only mammal that eats them are otters, but only the last few inches of its tail... These ancient species of jawless fish are a sign of a healthy ecosystem."

Sea Lampreys have a lifespan of around 20 years, although the average is about six years.

While they can be found in various locations across the UK, they are mainly concentrated in the Diver Derwent and Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria. Interestingly, Sea Lampreys are a protected species in the UK.

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This isn't the only bizarre creature to recently surface from the ocean. As Knewz.com previously reported, over 5,000 new species have been discovered this year.

One new species were found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a region that spans nearly 4 million square miles between Mexico and Hawaii.

"There's some just remarkable species down there. Some of the sponges look like classic bath sponges, and some look like vases. They're just beautiful," Muriel Rabone, a deep-sea ecologist at the Natural History Museum London, said.

"One of my favorites is the glass sponges. They have these little spines, and under the microscope, they look like tiny chandeliers or little sculptures," Rabone added in a news release. "We share this planet with all this amazing biodiversity, and we have a responsibility to understand it and protect it."