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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]
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.
The pharyngeal jaws of the moray are highly mobile, perhaps as an adaptation to the constricted nature of the burrows they inhabit which inhibits their ability to swallow as other fishes do by creating a negative pressure in the mouth. Instead, when the moray bites prey, it first bites normally with its oral jaws, capturing the prey.
The Kidako moray falls into the category of piscivorous with pharyngeal jaws. 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 pharyngeal jaws of the moray eel (family Muraenidae) possess their own set of teeth. The dentary of the ghost knifefish species Sternarchogiton nattereri (family Apteronotidae) has upper and lower pharyngeal tooth plates bearing 9–11 and 7–9 teeth, respectively.
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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