snakehead jaws
- Thread starter octopus grouper
- Start date
The pharyngeal teeth found in cichlids are an adaptation shared by many omnivorous species and are designed for grinding/tearing/ripping like our molars do for us. Although of these teeth have various adaptations some have evolved to do more for the grinding and ripping to aid in digestion of plant mater. On the other end of the scale they've evolved to aid more in holding/tearing for more predatory species .
Channa do not have the same sort of pharyngeal teeth as cichlids, but they do have a set of suprapharyngeal teeth that are adapted for holding and crushing.
That's a very quick and simple version/description but should give you the basics and key words needed to research more. Detailed information is easy to find with quick google search and a bit of reading.
