Predator with Alien-like jaws

Interesting article on the use of 'pharyngeal jaws' in an Earth predator, the Moray Eel:

For the first time, scientists have seen how a moray eel kills its prey -- with two sets of jaws, just like the scary monsters from space in the Alien movie series.

Here's how the second jaw works, courtesy of Post graphic artist Jonathon Rivait:

Here's another article that goes over the research leading up to the discovery:


Just goes to show, ha, ha, that the Nature is even stranger than H.R. Giger and Ridley Scott.

I don't know if it's clear just how the muscles are configured to accomplish this. It may be that a special type of super fast twitch muscle in involved.

For the Biologists, here's a journal article that talks about SF-twitch and other extraordinary reflexes:

Journal of Experimental Biology

[edit on 16-9-2007 by Badge01]

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[edit on 16/9/2007 by Mirthful Me]

Geez! That's the scariest thing I've seen in a while! I would not want to bump into that monster, ever! Morays are ugly enough, and now we find out they kill like Aliens? What's next, Predator suits?

I'm gonna get bad dreams tonight...