Maybe this is why my wife hates morays.
So, you know about the cuddly little moray eel, right?
Well, my wife hates them. Can’t even stand to look at them. But I always kinda liked them for their creepyness. Well, Rita Mehta at UC Davis really took a liking to how they eat, and how they are similar to snakes.
In any case, as you might know, fish have the regular-old type teeth in the regular old place, you know, in their mouth. But they also have teeth in their throat (or pharynx).
Radiographs of Muraena retifera with pharyngeal jaws "at rest" behind the skull (top) and fully protracted after prey capture (bottom)
Usually fish feed by opening their mouth quickly, and suctioning water and food into the back of their throat where their second set of teeth can get a hold of the food. But morays are different. Due to their long shape, they can’t generate the suction necesary to bring food back to the extra teeth. So the moray developed the ability to actually move its extra set of teeth from its throat, right into its mouth, grab the food, and ratchet it down.
Look at the top image to the right. It’s a bit unnatural, isn’t it? It appears that there is a second, fake jaw placed behind the fish’s skull. Well, that is really the natural rest position of the pharangual teeth.
The bottom image shows the teeth actually move up into it’s mouth and grab food down.
And finally, for the coup-de-creep, check out these 2 short videos.