A BLOOD-SUCKING “l(fā)iving dinosaur” with a mouth filled with swirling teeth has been spotted for the first time after a 20-year search. Sean Blocksidge, a tour guide in Margaret River, Australia, heard local legends about lampreys migrating up local waterfalls. He said no one had seen one in a decade. Lampreys, a jawless eel-like creature, evolved millions of years ago, and have a reputation for drinking the blood of their prey — with one genus even nicknamed the vampire fish. Blocksidge, 49, said: “It’s been like searching for a yeti or the Loch Ness monster.” After 20 years of searching, he found six at once. He said: “It was a kind of surreal moment. I had heard so many stories from the old-timers about how the lampreys used to migrate in their thousands up the waterfalls. “But we haven’t seen them in our Margaret River system for well over a decade. “I’m out on the river every day on tour with the canoes and always hoping to spot one, but this was my lucky day. “Yeah I got a bit excited — and also excited to know they are still here.” Blocksidge found them at Yalgardup Falls, where he and his tour groups stop to reflect on Aboriginal and European history. He said: “I looked down into the water and it looked like a long blue tube sitting in the shallows. “That seemed a bit odd as we don’t really get any rubbish in the river. “I went down for a closer look only to discover another half dozen of the ‘tubes’ trying to make their way up the waterfall. “It turned out it was the elusive pouched lamprey that I had been trying to find for the past 20 years!” (SD-Agencies) | 