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."

Ob. Ned Flanders quote

[dc29A (636871)]

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!

Re:

[Jugalator (259273)]

I'm still a bit sad that our Designer don't design animals with three jaws. Imagine what a concept, 50% more powerful than these!

When an eel bites your leg...

[winkydink (650484)]

and the pain makes you beg
that's a moray

Re:

[Stanistani (808333)]

Okay. That was random. Lie down, elevate your head above your rectum (to reverse the flow).

Perhaps you're consuming too many petroleum products.

I suggest sequestering some carbon, take two aspirin, and post again in the morning.

Haven't I seen this somewhere...

[Zwerker (918632)]

OMG - ALIEN! Defrost Ripley RIGHT NOW!

Re:

[Champ (91601)]

Well, the Predator [imdb.com] had a sexy little fishnet get-up.

Nature Article

[eldavojohn (898314)]

"If you look closely right around 34 seconds you can see what looks like the other set of jaws chewing."

I don't believe that is what you are seeing.

From the original source [nature.com] of information and in the Journal Nature's News [nature.com], these jaws are definitely not for chewing. If you look at the images of x-rays [physorg.com] you will see that these are more 'hooks' or teeth than jaws.

In the rest of the articles, they talk about this mearly being the method by which the eel pulls the food down or holds on to it. I don't believe any fish (or snakes for that matter) really 'chew' their food.

I think what you are seeing in that video is the extra skin around the inner part of the mouth billow out as the animal attempts to suck the food in (which as mentioned, most fish do). I don't know a lot about eels so I can't verify that the eel in that video is a moray eel much less one of the kinds that have that kind of device to ingest food. There's over 200 species of moray eels so I guess it would be futile to try and verify it. Still an interesting video but I predict you would see that kind of action when any fish feeds.

NPR has the video without requiring a subscription

[Beltway Prophet (453247)]

Halfway down on the left side: "Watch the Moray Eel"

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=14194579 [npr.org]

Re:

[TubeSteak (669689)]

I think what you are seeing in that video is the extra skin around the inner part of the mouth billow out as the animal attempts to suck the food in (which as mentioned, most fish do). [...] There's over 200 species of moray eels so I guess it would be futile to try and verify it.

Come on.. this stuff isn't that hard to verify.
You don't need high speed cameras.

Wouldn't a scalpel and some scissors resolve any lingering questions?

Re:

[Otter (3800)]

Wouldn't a scalpel and some scissors resolve any lingering questions?

The paper [nature.com], for those with access to Nature, has extensive dissections. It's not just based on the film of feeding, although I think that's what started them looking.

As Dean Martin used to say...

[$RANDOMLUSER (804576)]

When an eel bites your face, that's a moray.

Re:As Dean Martin used to say...

[syrinx (106469)]

I heard it as:

When fins brush by your heel
That's not just an eel
That's a moray

When you feel teeth bite down
And you're starting to drown
That's a moray

Re:As Dean Martin used to say...

[Gulthek (12570)]

When you're swimming in a creek
and an eel bites your cheek
That's a moray

Re:

[jollyreaper (513215)]

When you're scuba-divin' off of Oz
And a spine to the chest gives ya pause
That's not a moray, that's a ray

Re:

[clem (5683)]

When an eel lunges out
And it bites off your snout
That's a moray.

"That's a Moray!" -- Official version

[ClickOnThis (137803)]

Many years ago, somebody actually did write a moray-eel spoof of Dean Martin's "That's Amore". IIRC it was made popular by a group named "Barefoot and Andy", who had numerous scuba-themed songs and played in various clubs near scuba resorts in the Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands (where I heard them once.)

You can find the lyrics at the bottom of this page:

http://www.ukdivers.net/life/morays.htm [ukdivers.net]

Re:As Dean Martin used to say...

[srmalloy (263556)]

From Spider Robinson, author of the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon stories:

When you swim in da sea / an' an eel bites you knee, / dat's a moray.
A New Zealander man / with a permanent tan, / that's a Maori.
When two patterns combine, / in a way serpentine, / that's a moiré.
He tells jokes, he's a ham, / his last name's Amsterdam, / that's a Morey.
If your vitamins be / mostly C, D, and E, / take some more A.
When a Canadian shows / you his mother, he goes: / "Dat's my mawr, eh?"
With the high price of feed, / it's for farmers in need, / that some mow hay.
My new ray gun here tries / to put out both your eyes: / It's a Moe-ray.

Re:

[hasbeard (982620)]

I'm not sure whether to mod you +1 Funny or +1 Punny.

Obligatory Monthy Pythons

[aadvancedGIR (959466)]

My Eel is full of teeth.

Two jaws? Pah.

[pzs (857406)]

That's nothing. [bbc.co.uk]

Peter

Re:Two jaws? Pah.

[mapmaker (140036)]

Whatever, man. Let me know when you've found a monkey with five asses.

Re:

[clickety6 (141178)]

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

Another fine example of science reporting

[sacremon (244448)]

From TFA:

"It's like a scene from an Aliens movie: a scaly underwater creature looking something like a piranha crossed with a python strikes at its prey which is then reeled deeper into the beast's throat by a second set of toothy jaws."

Too bad moray eels don't actually have scales...

According to NASA

[brunes69 (86786)]

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.

Why is this news to them?

[jollyreaper (513215)]

Would not eel anatomists have made this discovery years ago?

Oblig. Bill Paxton Quote:

[GogglesPisano (199483)]

Game Over, Man - GAME OVER! [youtube.com]

Dragonflies seem more Alien-like

[PIPBoy3000 (619296)]

My favorite Alien-like feeder is the Dragonfly larvae [snh.org.uk]:

Dragonfly larvae have a remarkable tool at their disposal when hunting prey: their lower lip is modified into a long, hinged jaw terminating in two sharp, hook-like mandibles. This is known as the "mask". When a prey is in sight, the mask is thrust forward and the prey instantly impaled on the hooks, then drawn back to the mouth and eaten.

There's also a good video [youtube.com] of the jaw in action.

Eely Love

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

When the tide rises high
And a snake bites your thigh,
That's a moray!

Re:

[trongey (21550)]

That's so beautiful. It brought a little tear to my eye.

Has nobody ever dissected one

[karlandtanya (601084)]

I'd think the structure described (no pics?) would be pretty apparent?
Or did they just think they were vestigal?

pharyngeal jaw

[jbeaupre (752124)]

A second jaw is not new. In fact, it is a defining characteristic of some fish (cichlids) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cichlid#Anatomy_and_a ppearance [wikipedia.org].

Cichlids are a great example of evolution, with some species only a couple thousand years old. The second jaw is thought to be why they are so successful and diverse.

News?

[u8i9o0 (1057154)]

Over two decades ago, I noticed a second set of jaws in a moray eel on display at a local pet store.
If I had known that such an observation was newsworthy, I'd have shown it to more than just my brother and father.

Since I see this as a non-story, I'll offer an anecdote:

Seeing the second set made me even more afraid of morays - they're creepy enough with just one set. The worst was seeing one with a body cross section similar in size to a 3 liter soda bottle just a few yards from me while SCUBA diving. Daggers for teeth. That thing could have easily killed anyone in the group. Not something you want to meet that far under water, protected only by a bathing suit and basic SCUBA gear.

BTW, even though the article makes SciFi comparisons, this article should not be categorized under SciFi. Otherwise, every subject should be categorized under SciFi (find me a subject that cannot be compared to SciFi).

Re:News?

[DerekLyons (302214)]

Over two decades ago, I noticed a second set of jaws in a moray eel on display at a local pet store.
 
If I had known that such an observation was newsworthy, I'd have shown it to more than just my brother and father.

Both the summary and part of the article are written to erroneously imply that the jaws were just discovered... But what was actually discovered (and is newsworthy) is the function of those jaws.

A monumental breakthrough!

[Klowner (145731)]

After reading the description, the first thing I thought of was the goatse photo... Something is very wrong with me

Re:

[haluness (219661)]

One reason: the alien queen in Aliens (and Aliens 2 3 4) exhibited this type of anatomy. Of course in the movie the inner set of jaws were for biting chewing and drooling ...

Re:Why is the article tagged Sci-Fi?

[adycarter (261257)]

Yup, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenomorph_(Alien) [wikipedia.org]

Re:Why is the article tagged Sci-Fi?

[glwtta (532858)]

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).

Re:Why is the article tagged Sci-Fi?

[sholden (12227)]

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.

Re:

[jimstapleton (999106)]

maybe because the article presumes a certain intellegence of /.ers that is mostly lacking - hence adding the fiction to the science.

Or it could be the Alien theory.

Re:

[1u3hr (530656)]

Same reason any article referring to any words used in Star Trek is, regardless of the facts that they're real science.

But to be fair, it wasn't just Slashdot pandering to geeks, most of the reports in normal (non-scientifc) media mention Alien in the first paragraph.

But a quick Google for "pharyngeal jaw" finds this is not unique to moray eeels, many species have them, just the moray's is unusually prominent and mobile.

And since we seem doomed to be discussing the movies here, I wonder now if HR Giger [hrgiger.com],

Re:

[aadvancedGIR (959466)]

IANMB but it seems unlikely.
Those eels have two distinct sets of jaws with associated muscles, but the sharks only have one set with several layers of teeth (new one are grown all the time on one side of the jaw and push the older ones until they fall).

Re:

[Conanymous Award (597667)]

Interesting idea, but prolly not. Sharks and rays are a completely different brand of creatures than the moray eels, which belong to the bony fishes. Sharks, which are cartilaginous fishes, are also far older.

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[somersault (912633)]

"Also, although this is interesting it is fairly common in fishes to have extra sets of teeth that are not located on the jaws (e.g. pharyngeal teeth) that can be used to crush or hold prey."

Sounds like a girl I know.

Re:

[Psmylie (169236)]

Anybody else feeling like there's a certain Sci-Fi channel mediocre miniseries in our near future?

Sadly, yes. I always feel certain that there's a mediocre Sci-Fi channel miniseries on the way, even before I'd heard of these double-jawed creepy eel things.

They'll probably pair it up with an erupting volcano and call it "Double-Jawed Lava Eels"

What the heck... it can't be worse than Ice Spiders, right?

Re:

[dougmc (70836)]

Or Mansquito.

Re:

[StressGuy (472374)]

I've wondered that about your wife myself...

{...sorry, low-hanging fruit...} :)

Re:

[MobileTatsu-NJG (946591)]

"Hmm wonder if my wife is an Eel?"

According to my See 'n Say, she's a cow.

Re:

[Overzeetop (214511)]

Some of us are still sore over Ubuntu not having an "ecstatic eel" release. See, it all ties together.

Oh, and for the record, the Alien tie-in is reason enough on /. because, well, it's /.

Open sores connection...

[NotQuiteReal (608241)]

Open your hand, and gently wave it back and forth in front of your face... now re-read the summary:

...deep...throats...

"Instead of sucking, one of these ... bites ... with its primary set of teeth. ...then ... The ... jaws clamp down ... in a gulping motion to take in more ... until the whole ... has been swallowed."

If that doesn't conjure up images of open sores, I don't know what will!

Re:

[gstoddart (321705)]

Other than a tenuous link with the Alien film which might be somewhat geeky I can't understand why this is newsworthy.

Dude, it's in the science section. For some of us, daily news about science is a good thing. It's something I didn't know when I woke up this morning.

Cheers