The lamprey resembles eels due to its lack of scales and slippery skin. They are the origin of vertebrates and Alvaro Cunqueiro wanted to see the empanada of the Portico of Glory of the Cathedral of Santiago filled with lamprey.
In such fisheries, lampreys were trapped and taken in vessels to Rome for the enjoyment of the most demanding palates. The lamprey is one of the few prehistoric vestiges that remain, an animal that goes up the rivers to follow the ancestral rite of life and death.