Great, It's Raining Toothed Eels In Alaska

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse than spiders raining down from the sky, Alaska is here to prove you wrong. Over the last few weeks, lamprey eels, which have teeth, fell from the sky in Fairbanks, Alaska, on at least four separate occasions. Though they are technically fish, lampreys are often called eels because of their slender, foot-long build, and their signature trait is an absolutely grotesque funnel-like mouth lined with small, sharp teeth. Perhaps the only thing more frightening than insects raining down is something with teeth raining down on you.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, adult Arctic lampreys fell four times in one week earlier this month. The creepy creatures have been spotted at the most random places, like the Value Village thrift store parking lot and on someone's lawn. Officials believe that seagulls are to blame for the random eel showers and advise those who find them to call the Fish and Game department.

There are several reasons why lampreys are the last thing you want raining down on you, besides the obvious reason of not wanting an eel to hit you on the head. The most notable reason is their horrifying feeding technique. Lampreys use their jawless mouths and teeth to clamp onto other fish and tear through their flesh and bones to suck their blood, earning them the nickname "vampire fish." After feeding on their prey, they drop them and leave them for dead. Not only is that downright spine-chilling, it's also horribly rude and wasteful.

If you're trying to picture lamb frolicking in a field to get rid of that mental image, don't bother. Because there are plenty of equally grotesque animals out there that shouldn't have teeth, but do, and after spiders and eels, we can all but expect these things to rain down on us next.

Piranha

Any animal that's been the subject of a horror movie you do not want raining down on you.

Goosander

It might look like a cute, fluffy duck from afar, but upon closer look, these things are basically Jaws with feathers.

Baleen Whale

First of all, whales are the gentle giants of the sea — they should not have teeth like that! Secondly, let's hope we never see raining whales because that could do some serious damage.

Hagfish

According to scientists at the University of California Museum of Paleontology in Berkeley, hagfish have "two pairs of tooth-like rasps on the top of a tongue-like projection." Seriously, what's with all these fish with teeth?

Leatherback Turtle

You may not have known this, but inside the esophagus of a leatherback turtle are rows and rows of sharp, razor-like teeth.

Squid

As if tentacles weren't creepy enough, the Promachoteuthis sulcus also has eerily human-like teeth.

Saber-Toothed Deer

What?! No, I'm going to pretend like I never saw that.

Images: Wikipedia Commons, Northwest Power and Conservation Council/Flickr, Getty Images, Vince/Flickr, Ryan Harvey/Flickr, NOAA Photo Library/Flickr, Wikipedia Commons, tolweb.org, Peter Halasz/Flickr