Q:I'm not sure if it applies to one specific species of eels or all of them, but did you know that they have a second pair of jaws deep in their throat? When they bite down on their prey the second pair of jaws launches from the back of the throat and drags the prey deep into the throat of the eel. The "aliens" movie got there design from them.
ahh yeah the pharyngeal jaws ! theres actually a BUNCH of fish that have a little pair of em inside, but youre right in that moray eels specifically have a pair that are SUPER mobile compaired to other fish
whats amazing is just how FAR BACK they are when not in use - cichlid fish are also pretty well known for em, in that they have a less impressive set that works mainly the same way !
Q:Are you a fan of other marine animals (aside from sharks)? I loved your goblin shark post (I also love sharks) and I was wondering if you were as excited about the rest of the sea babies 🐙
YES in fact ive wanted to do a little shout out to some Very Good Eels for a while now how about
green morays, ( which you might recognize from the little mermaid heyoo ), are actually a brownish grey in color, and its the mucus covering their bodies that gives them a greenish tint
zebra morays, which get around five feet long and feed on mainly crabs and clams
dragon morays, which live primarily in color reefs and rocky crevices, and as theyre mainly nocturnal, not a lot is known about their habits
ribbon eels drastically change colors as they age, and are even believed to able to switch sexes from male to female once they mature (although its not confirmed, as theyre very hard to keep in captivity !)
white eyed morays h hhah hah they just look like this are you kidding me
fangtoothed morays are one of my Favorites - they get a little under four feet long, and despite the rows of crystal teeth are pretty skittish and only bite when somethings hassling them
and spotted garden eels live inside little tubes burrowed in the seabed with groups of others, and just kinda poke their heads out to catch drifting planton (a lot of eels live this way, including most other garden eel species !)
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