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Most fish species with pharyngeal teeth do not have extendable pharyngeal jaws. A particularly notable exception is the highly mobile pharyngeal jaw of the moray eels.These are possibly a response to their inability to swallow as other fishes do by creating a negative pressure in the mouth, perhaps induced by their restricted environmental niche (burrows) or in the air in the intertidal zone. [10]
It has rather small eyes positioned at the end of the short snout. It has numerous and short, sharp teeth inserted into a large and profound jaw that extends back into the head. In addition, there is a second jaw, the pharyngeal jaw located further down the throat, used to capture and transport the prey into the throat.
The jaws of the Kidako moray, or moray eels in general, hold a dual-jaw system for feeding. [10] They primarily use the oral jaws to deliver prey into the esophagus with sharp and piercing teeth. The teeth are curved backward and point towards its throat to avoid prey coming back out of its mouth. [ 13 ]
Moray eel jaw anatomy In addition to the presence of pharyngeal jaws, morays' mouth openings extend far back into the head, compared to fish which feed using suction. In the action of lunging at prey and biting down, water flows out the posterior side of the mouth opening, reducing waves in front of the eel which would otherwise displace prey.
English: Moray eels have two sets of jaws: 1) the oral jaws that capture prey; and 2) the pharyngeal jaws (similar to the jaws of the monster in the movie Alien) that advance into the mouth and move prey from the oral jaws to the oesophagus for swallowing.
A dead moray eel washed ashore near Laguna Niguel over the weekend, creeping out beachgoers. An 'Alien'-like marine creature washed ashore near Laguna Niguel over the weekend Skip to main content
Gymnothorax kontodontos E. B. Böhlke, 2000 (Short-tooth moray) Gymnothorax longinquus (Whitley, 1948) Gymnothorax maderensis (J. Y. Johnson, 1862) (Shark-tooth moray) Gymnothorax mareei Poll, 1953 (Spot-jaw moray) Gymnothorax margaritophorus Bleeker, 1864 (Blotch-necked moray) Gymnothorax marshallensis (L. P. Schultz, 1953) (Marshall Islands ...
At least one species, Muraena retifera, possesses an additional "raptorial pharyngeal jaw" within the pharynx, which is mobile and can be thrust forwards quickly to assist in grasping prey. [ 4 ] Some of the tropical Muraenas exceed a length of 5 feet (150 cm), but most of the species, among them the Mediterranean moray , are somewhat smaller.