11004-00104 Pouched lamprey, or piharau (Geotria australis) sexually mature adult male. Once they have returned from the sea, adults can spend up to 16 months in freshwater before spawning. Incredibly, during this time they do not feed, but survive on their body tissue. By the time they are sexually mature they have become brown in colour, and males like this one, develop a pouch. Okuti River, Canterbury *
11004-00101 Pouched lamprey, or piharau (Geotria australis) sexually mature adult male. Once they have returned from the sea, adults can spend up to 16 months in freshwater before spawning. Incredibly, during this time they do not feed, but survive on their body tissue. By the time they are sexually mature they have become brown in colour, and males like this one, develop a pouch. Okuti River, Canterbury *
DSC_7069 Pouched lamprey (Geotria australis) NIWA freshwater scientists Don Jellyman and son Phillip, use electro-fishing gear to search for ammocoete larva which live buried in the mud for the first four years or so of their life. Okuti River, Canterbury *
