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Some Moray Eels Have Two Sets of Jaws
mikesd81 writes that the Mercury News reports that scientists at UC Davis have discovered that some eels have an extra set of jaws deep in their throats that launch forward into their mouths to help pull prey in. "'It looks like a funny pair of forceps with curved sharp teeth,' said evolutionary biologist Rita Mehta, lead author of the research, which appears Thursday in Nature. Before the discovery, scientists thought that all aquatic predators swallowed their prey using suction. By dropping the lower jaw and creating a flow of water into their mouths, they draw in the prey. The two species of moray eels studied by Mehta and Wainwright are the first examples of an alternative feeding method. Instead of sucking, one of these eels bites its prey with its primary set of teeth. It then draws the second set of teeth into its mouth by contracting long muscles. The secondary jaws clamp down on the prey, allowing the eel to move its primary jaws forward in a gulping motion to take in more of the prey. The two sets of jaws take turns until the whole animal has been swallowed." mikesd81 adds a link to a YouTube video of an eel eating, noting "If you look closely right around 34 seconds you can see what looks like the other set of jaws chewing."
Well, this certainly seems odd, but, heh, who am I to question the work of the Almighty? Oh, we thank you Lord for this mighty fine intelligent design! Good job!
OMG - ALIEN! Defrost Ripley RIGHT NOW!
When an eel bites your face, that's a moray.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
I've wondered that about your wife myself...
:)
{...sorry, low-hanging fruit...}
A goal is a dream with a deadline
Further on this, according to NASA, 50 double-jawed Moray Eels can chew 100 objects simultaniously. Even further, 100 double-jawed Moray Eels can chew 200 objects.
Some of us are still sore over Ubuntu not having an "ecstatic eel" release. See, it all ties together.
/. because, well, it's /.
Oh, and for the record, the Alien tie-in is reason enough on
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Parent got modded "insightful"? LOL.
Whatever, man. Let me know when you've found a monkey with five asses.
Okay, but the Xenomorphs of the Alien series of movies weren't eels.
That is the single stupidest thing I've read today (though it's still pretty early).
sic transit gloria mundi
Whatever, man. Let me know when you've found a monkey with five asses.
Et voila - a monkey with five asses:
George W. Bush
Dick Cheney
Donald Rumsfeld
Condoleezza Rice
Paul Wolfowitz
Alberto Gonzales
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
and the pain makes you beg
that's a moray
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
If the first thing that pops into your head when you read "have two sets of jaws" isn't Alien then you need to watch more movies.