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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.
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]
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.
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 ]
With more than 120 species, it the most speciose genus of moray eels. Smith (2012) notes that Gymnothorax as currently recognized is polyphyletic, but cautioned that comparative studies are needed before action is taken to resurrect generic synonyms of Gymnothorax .
Many commenters offered guesses, including conger eel, long tail moray and green moray. But Trapman Australia said the creature doesn’t coincide with accepted descriptions for any of those eel ...
The Indian mud moray eel, (Gymnothorax tile) is a moray eel found in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. [2] It was first named by Hamilton in 1822, [ 2 ] and is also commonly known as the freshwater moray or freshwater snowflake eel .
An intact prehistoric mastodon jaw was discovered in the backyard of a Hudson Valley house after the homeowner initially saw a pair of teeth poking up by a plant, according to state officials.