Moray eel’s second jaws take a note from Aliens

If you thought that eels were just elongated slimy predators with a big toothy mouth, you are mostly right. Mostly except for that second set of jaws that many members of anguilliformes have developed from modified gill arches. The adaptation apparently is derived from a lack of suction produced by the simple opening of an eel’s mouth. Keep a close eye on the fellow in the above video for a brief glimpse of the Aliens movie flashback where this jeweled moray extends it’s inner jaws to pull the food item deeper into it’s mouth. Who knew that eels could be so creepy? Oh wait. . . it’s an eel.

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