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Real-life "Alien" jaws - Darien Satterfield

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TEDEd Animation

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After stalking a cuttlefish, a moray eel finally pounces. As the eel snags the mollusk in its teeth, its prey struggles to escape. But before it can wiggle away, a second set of teeth lunge from the eel’s throat. This adaptation is called a pharyngeal jaw, and is one of the most common adaptations under the sea. Darien Satterfield shares how this incredible skeletal mechanism works.

Describe a food source that would be unavailable to a fish without pharyngeal jaws, and explain how a fish with pharyngeal jaws is uniquely adapted to gain this hard to access supply of energy and nutrition.

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Darien Satterfield
  • Director Zack Williams
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Music Maxwell Sorensen
  • Sound Designer Maxwell Sorensen
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma

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