Buzz
An animal's mouth can speak volumes. Take the bottlenose dolphin, whose fixed, upward smile gives off an aura of friendliness. On the contrary, the wide-open jaw of a great white shark, filled with menacing, sharp teeth, reinforces its fearsome reputation as a man-eater.
Beyond just expressing emotions like happiness or anger, an animal's mouth, especially its teeth, can provide us with significant insights into its nature. The underwater world is no exception to this, as its creatures boast a vast array of dental adaptations.
10. Goliath Tigerfish (Hydrocynus Goliath)
Native to the Congo, the goliath tigerfish inhabits the entire Congo River basin, except for the Mweru-Luapula-Bangweulu system. This fish boasts one of the most terrifying and impressive smiles in the animal world.
A popular target in sport fishing, the goliath tigerfish features 32 inch-long, razor-sharp teeth, all strategically located at the edge of its jaws for maximum intimidation and cutting efficiency. Though the exact size and weight can vary, reports of specimens over 1 meter (3.3 ft) in length and weighing up to 50 kilograms (110 lb) are common.
As a ruthless predator, the goliath tigerfish is commonly found in regions with turbulent waters and high turbidity. It combines advanced sensory abilities that detect the low-frequency vibrations of other fish with excellent vision, using quick, short bursts of speed to capture its prey.
9. Gob-Faced Squid (Promachoteuthis Sulcus)
Promachoteuthis sulcus, also known as the gob-faced squid, was once recognized solely by its Latin name, but its distinct, human-like teeth have earned it this quirky moniker. This squid is a favorite of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society (UAPS), an organization led by biologist Simon Watt, which advocates for the appreciation of less aesthetically pleasing creatures. What appear to be teeth are, in fact, circular, folded lips that encircle the squid's beak when it isn't feeding.
This elusive decapodiform cephalopod has only been recorded from a single specimen: an immature female caught near the remote Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the southern Atlantic. The specimen was netted by the German research vessel R/V Walther Herwig at a depth of about 2,000 meters (3,500 ft). Like most decapodiforms, the gob-faced squid is small, with the specimen measuring just 40 millimeters (1.5 in) in length.
8. Cookiecutter Shark (Isistius Brasiliensis)
The deep-water cookiecutter, or cigar shark, is not the most intimidating of sharks. Females grow to around 60 centimeters (22 in), while males are even smaller, reaching a maximum length of just 40 centimeters (16 in). Despite their small size, they aren't deterred from attacking prey much larger than themselves. While they typically hunt crustaceans and small squid, they have been known to rip chunks from dolphins, tuna, and other sharks, luring them with flashing photophores before striking.
Known as facultative ectoparasites, cookiecutter sharks feed on the flesh of other animals, inflicting harm without causing death. Their specialized teeth are ideal for these covert attacks. The teeth in the upper jaw are smaller for grasping, while those in the lower jaw are larger for tearing, and all are interconnected at their bases so they move as one. When they latch onto their prey using their sectorial lips, the shark twists its body, carving out a plug-like chunk of flesh from the victim.
The cookiecutter shark’s teeth are so specialized that instead of losing them one by one, they are shed as one and ingested to help maintain their calcium levels.
7. Fangtooth Moray Eel (Enchelycore Anatina)
Native to the Mediterranean and northern Atlantic Ocean, the fangtooth moray, also known as the bird-eye conger, belongs to the Muraenidae family. This bottom-dwelling species features a slender, elongated body that tapers into a narrow, pointed head with a raised occipital region.
Typically chocolate brown with large, lighter patches scattered across its body, the fangtooth moray is expertly camouflaged within its rocky environment. Like many moray eels, only its head is usually visible to divers, with the rest of its body hidden within the nooks and crannies of the rocks.
An aggressive predator, the fangtooth moray preys on smaller cephalopods, reef fish, and crustaceans, using its formidable set of teeth to catch them. These distinct, glass-like teeth are so large that they remain visible even when the moray’s mouth is closed.
6. Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus)
Lampreys are jawless cyclostomes and represent some of the most ancient fish still in existence. The sea lamprey is the largest species among European lampreys, with an eel-like body measuring up to 45 centimeters (18 in). Unlike most fish, it has a cartilaginous body and lacks bones, scales, paired fins, a lateral line, and a swim bladder.
The sea lamprey is commonly found in estuaries and rivers throughout the UK, the eastern USA, and the Atlantic coastal regions of Europe, reaching as far north as Norway and extending down to the Mediterranean. As anadromous creatures, they spend most of their lives in the sea, migrating back to freshwater areas to spawn.
While in the ocean, the sea lamprey adopts a parasitic lifestyle, using its suction mouth and teeth to latch onto larger fish species and scrape away at their flesh with its modified tongue. This parasitic behavior became a major problem in the Great Lakes. After entering through human-made canals, they thrived and caused severe damage to local species and fisheries.
5. Eastern Beaded Chiton (Chaetopleura Apiculata)
When considering the animal with the toughest teeth in the animal kingdom, you likely picture a predator, not a mollusk.
Found along the coastlines of the northern Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern Pacific, these chitons are relatively small, typically reaching an average size of 25 millimeters (1 in). Like many species in the Chaetopleura family, the eastern beaded chiton primarily resides in the littoral surf zone, clinging to rocks and shells. It feeds by using its teeth to scrape algae from rocks, producing new rows of teeth daily to replace the worn ones. Older rows are pushed towards the mouth region by the radula.
Unlike human teeth, which are made of enamel, the teeth of these chitons have magnetite tips, the hardest material found in any living organism. By using a technique usually reserved for studying metals, an atom probe has been employed to investigate how these teeth develop, with the long-term goal of replicating this process in labs to create tougher synthetic materials.
4. Black Dragonfish (Idiacanthus Atlanticus)
The black dragonfish, a member of the Stomiidae family, is a deep-sea species that can be found throughout the southern hemisphere at depths of around 2,000 meters (7,000 ft). Like many creatures of the deep, black dragonfish migrate vertically, swimming toward the surface at night to feed before descending back to the depths during daylight hours.
This species also exhibits an extreme form of sexual dimorphism. The female black dragonfish can grow up to 40 centimeters (16 in) in length. Like other mesopelagic predators, it can generate its own light using photophores located along its body, under its eyes, and on the tips of its chin barbell. These light-producing organs can be used as a lure to attract smaller prey, which are captured using its large barbed fangs, or to confuse predators. In contrast, the males are brown rather than black, only grow to about 5 centimeters (2 in), and lack teeth, chin barbells, and a functioning gut, similar to the male deep-sea anglerfish.
3. Bobbit Worm (Eunice Aphroditois)
The bobbit worm belongs to a highly specialized and distinct genus of polychaete worms known as eunice worms. The origins of the nickname “bobbit worm” are uncertain, though it appears to be a reference to Lorena Bobbit, who became notorious in the 1990s for severing her husband’s genitals. However, the worm's jaws open like scissors, unlike the knife Bobbit used to inflict the injuries. Additionally, contrary to some beliefs, female bobbit worms do not sever the male’s genitalia after mating. In fact, as broadcast spawners, bobbit worms do not possess external genital appendages at all.
Bobbit worms can grow to lengths exceeding 1 meter (3 ft) and are found across the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the northern Atlantic, and southern Australia. They spend most of their time buried in the mud or sediment at the ocean’s floor. As ambush predators, they lie in wait for prey to disturb one of their five tentacles protruding from their burrow before striking with lightning-fast speed.
Eunice worms sometimes find their way into the aquarium trade, inadvertently hitching a ride within live rocks destined for reef aquariums. Once settled in, these elusive creatures grow and hunt at night, feeding on coral, invertebrates, and fish, often leaving aquarists puzzled about the cause of their dwindling stock.
2. Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea)
The leatherback turtle holds the title of the largest living turtle, capable of growing up to 2 meters (7 ft) in length. Unlike its sea turtle relatives, the leatherback does not have a bony shell but instead boasts a thick, leathery skin that covers its carapace. It primarily feeds on jellyfish and other soft-bodied creatures like tunicates, cephalopods, and pyrosomes, trailing them through the water column. As a result, leatherbacks spend most of their daylight hours in deeper waters, only rising to the shallows at night to follow the jellyfish’s upward migration.
The leatherback turtle's dentition is uniquely suited to catching jellyfish. Rather than possessing traditional teeth, the leatherback has spikes on the inner edge of its tomium, the sharpened beak edge. Additionally, it features backward-facing spines in its throat to ensure that once a jellyfish or other prey is captured, it has little chance of escaping.
1. Narwhal (Monodon Monoceros)
Narwhals, despite their name, are not whales but a species of porpoise related to orcas, belugas, and bottlenose dolphins. As social creatures, narwhals live in pods in the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean, where they feed on fish, shrimps, and smaller cephalopods. They can grow up to 5 meters (16 ft) in length.
The narwhal's most striking feature is its tooth, which has earned it the title of the “unicorns of the sea.” Male narwhals sport a massive, spiraled canine tooth that can extend up to 3 meters (10 feet), protruding from the left side of their upper lip.
The exact function of this long tooth remains a mystery. Some suggest it’s used to impale prey or possibly for jousting among males to impress potential mates. Recent studies, however, have discovered that the narwhal's tusk contains as many as 10 million nerve endings, suggesting it may also serve a sensory role.
