Some Moray Eels Have Two Sets of Jaws 158
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 (Score:5, Funny)
Haven't I seen this somewhere... (Score:5, Funny)
As Dean Martin used to say... (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:As Dean Martin used to say... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Hmm (Score:2, Funny)
{...sorry, low-hanging fruit...}
According to NASA (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Why /. ? (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, and for the record, the Alien tie-in is reason enough on
Re:Why is the article tagged Sci-Fi? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:As Dean Martin used to say... (Score:4, Funny)
and an eel bites your cheek
That's a moray
Re:Two jaws? Pah. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:According to NASA (Score:1, Funny)
Yes, but the license EULA limits you to only 10 objects at once
Re:Why is the article tagged Sci-Fi? (Score:5, Funny)
That is the single stupidest thing I've read today (though it's still pretty early).
Re:Two jaws? Pah. (Score:3, Funny)
Et voila - a monkey with five asses:
George W. Bush
Dick Cheney
Donald Rumsfeld
Condoleezza Rice
Paul Wolfowitz
Alberto Gonzales
Re:Haven't I seen this somewhere... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:As Dean Martin used to say... (Score:5, Funny)
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:As Dean Martin used to say... (Score:3, Funny)
And it bites off your snout
That's a moray.
When an eel bites your leg... (Score:5, Funny)
that's a moray
Re:Why is the article tagged Sci-Fi? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:As Dean Martin used to say... (Score:2, Funny)
And your brain starts to whine
That's a moire