Hidden weapon of Morena

2007/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia
• Zoologia

Morena is a great hunter who spies his prey hidden between corals or rocks, with a horrible tooth. It has just been discovered that it hides a hunting weapon: a second jaw in the pharynx (figure a), with sharp teeth.

This unique discovery has been made with high-speed cameras and X-ray photographs at the University of California, and they have found that the second gag also hangs the prey (figure b) with the arrival of the brunette (Muraena retifera). As they have explained, this gag of the pharynx is mainly for the capture of the prey, not only to help mature and swallow, as happens in other animal species.

Many predatory fish use suction to help in attack. But the brunette is the only fish that uses the second gag for hunting, at least the first known. And it seems that this is the key to the cynegetic success of this fish.