Lampreys of the Calidocene 

After years of being on the sidelines, lampreys can finally step up to the plate. The only lamprey species to survive the holocene was the Sea Lamprey. In the abscence of large fish, lampreys have had to resort to other feeding methods. 

Dragonleeches

Dragonleeches (genus zaldrizestorgo, dragon-worm) are a genus of sea lamprey descendants. They are found within saltree forests, wetlands, rivers, and lakes in the Americas. Dragonleeches are split into two nearly identical subgenera that are in constant competition with each other. Dragonleeches usually measure in at about a foot in length, a sharp contrast to their giant ancestors. 

The first subgenus of dragonleeches are herbivores, feeding on algae and aquatic plants, while also feeding on dead skin and parasites. Many times, when aquatic reptiles are covered in algae and parasites, the dragonleeches will clean them by getting hard to itch places. Their mouth disc is about 3 inches in diameter, but facial muscles can shrink the disc in order to make swimming and feeding on hard to reach plants easier. Their tongue is not sharp, however, it is flat and covered in bristles, almost like a toothbrush. In exchange for cleaning, the dragonleeches are given protection by their hosts. 

However dragonleeches aren't always so peaceful. The other subgenus of dragonleeches are just as violent as their ancestor, the sea lamprey. These dragonleeches mimic the other species of dragonleeches to the point where they are almost identical. The only difference between them is that their facial disc can't retract, it can only fold itself over and hide itself. Their tongue is sharp and reinforced by iron in order to bore through scales. The uncanny resemblence between the vampires and their herbivorous counterparts allows for vampiric dragonleeches to get close to aquatic reptiles under the guise of a cleaning crew. The vampiric dragonleeches inject a numbing agent into the open wound that they bored into the skin of their prey so that they can feast on the blood. During mating season, they will often lay eggs inside of the open wound and die. The larvae will have to eat their way out when they hatch, a sharp contrast to how herbivorous dragonleeches lay their eggs under leaf litter. If they get found out, they will get chased by their prey until they escape or get eaten.

Crysteels

Crysteels (genus crystallomurena, crystal lamprey) are a small genus of riverine and marsh-dwelling lampreys descended from Northeast Atlantic sea lampreys. They are found in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Crysteels measure in at about 4 inches in length.

Crysteels are neotonous, meaning that they stay in their juvenile form throughout adulthood. Their neotenous form evolved due to intense predation which required them to breed fast. The younger the lamprey matured, bred, and died, the faster their genes spread. Eventually, adult Crysteels started to look identical to their larval forms, being transparent with the exception of the visible organs. Their transparent flesh helps them hide from predators, which further increases the population. During breeding season, Crysteel larvae and dead Crysteels fill the rivers and provide local flora and fauna with copious amounts of food. This feast helps balance the population of Crysteels until the next year, when the full grown Crysteels swim up river, they breed, and then die. 

Crysteels have a diet consisting of insect larvae, algae, and detritus. During the spring and summer, Crysteels mainly eat mosquito larvae, which could end up causing an epidemic if not controlled in the now warm and humid Europe. Their facial disc is toothless and their tongue is wedge-shaped.