Fact Friday

The family Scorpaenidae includes a number of the world’s most venomous fish species. The scorpionfish in this photo has a painful sting if you happen to be unlucky enough to come into contact with one of its spines. The pain caused by its cousin, the stonefish, can be so painful that the body goes into shock and may die.

Photo Credit: Ken Marks

Need Help?

Send us an email

Email
Spotted Moray Eel

December 29, 2023

Spotted Moray Eel

How do you eat when you don’t have appendages? Snakes on land have an expandable jaw that allows them to move their jaws forward in order to eat their prey whole. Eels do not have this capability. Eels, like this spotted moray eel (Gymnothorax moringa), have two sets of jaws to help them feed. The oral jaws capture the prey, while the phalangeal jaws reach towards the oral jaws to pull the prey into its throat.

Photo Credit: Andrew Bruckner