Dangerous predators—the saber-toothed Moray

Even among the infamous morays, these toothy predator – one of the most dangerous and menacing. We are talking about the saber-toothed Moray (lat. Enchelycore anatina), inhabiting the Eastern part of the Atlantic ocean: the Canary and Azores Islands, near the island of St. Helena and the coast of Madeira.





Secretive and slow, these ocean predator hiding in narrow crevices of rocks and coral reefs at depths up to 60 meters, spending the whole light of the day. Sticking his head out, they drive it from side to side, looking out for passing prey, and after dark, leaving shelter to go hunting.





Due to the wide black stripes, scattered yellow torso, saber-toothed Moray was nicknamed "tiger Moray".





As the first name, it very accurately describes her character and appearance: this ruthless predator, growing up to 120 cm in length, armed with two rows of razor-sharp and transparent as glass, teeth. Most of them are long and narrow, of a height > 2.5 cm, alternate with short and wide.





Like other Moray eels, saber-toothed Moray eels have two pairs of jaws. Waiting for prey in narrow holes, they can't wide open mouth and grab the victim with water. They have to push out a second, hidden deep in the throat, jaw, which draws the prey into the esophagus.





Despite the transparency, the teeth of the tiger Moray is very durable, able to easily crack the shells of crayfish and crabs. To preserve the purity of these crystal in the form of teeth help Moray eels shrimp cleaners, quietly living in symbiosis with their dangerous neighbors.

Source: zoopicture.ru