Pharyngeal teeth
Encyclopedia
Pharyngeal teeth are teeth in the pharyngeal arch of the throat of cyprinid
s, sucker
s, and a number of other fish
species lacking teeth.
Popular aquarium fish such as goldfish
and loaches have these structures. Members of the Botia
genus such as clown loaches
are known to make distinctive clicking sounds when they grind their pharyngeal teeth. Myxocyprinus asiaticus
(family Catostomidae
) have a single row of pharyngeal teeth that have comb-like arrangements.
The lower pharyngeal bones of cichlids also carry specialized teeth which augment their normal mandibular teeth in the breakdown of food.
The Cape Fear Shiner
(family Cyprinidae) only has pharyngeal teeth (teeth located on the back of the fish's throat on its gill arches), similar to the teeth of other omnivorous shiners.
To crunch exoskeleton
s the Redear sunfish
(family Centrarchidae
) has thick pharyngeal teeth composed of hard, movable plates in its throat.
The pharyngeal jaws
of the Moray eel
(family Muraenidae) possess their own set of teeth.
Molidae
are said to be able to produce sound by grinding their pharyngeal teeth, which are long and claw-like.
The dentary of Sternarchogiton nattereri
(family Apteronotidae) has upper and lower pharyngeal tooth plates bearing 9-11 and 7-9 teeth respectively.
In the Priapulida
the mouth cone (“everted pharynx”) of a possible new species of Meiopriapulus bears pharyngeal teeth.
Fossils of the Yunnanozoon
and Haikouella
possess pharyngeal teeth.
Cyprinid
The family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek kyprînos , consists of the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives . Commonly called the carp family or the minnow family, its members are also known as cyprinids...
s, sucker
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
s, and a number of other fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
species lacking teeth.
Popular aquarium fish such as goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
and loaches have these structures. Members of the Botia
Botia
Botia is a genus of freshwater fish in the loach family . It was a large genus with about 20 species. In 2004 Maurice Kottelat proposed in his paper to divide the genus into four related genera based on fish appearance and locality:* Botia for Indian loaches .*...
genus such as clown loaches
Clown loach
The clown loach, Chromobotia macracanthus, is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Cobitidae family. It is the sole member of the Chromobotia genus. It originates in inland waters in Indonesia on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo...
are known to make distinctive clicking sounds when they grind their pharyngeal teeth. Myxocyprinus asiaticus
Myxocyprinus asiaticus
The Chinese high fin banded shark, Myxocyprinus asiaticus, is a popular freshwater community-aquarium fish that belongs to the Catostomidae family. They grow to over three feet long and may be unsuitable for most home aquariums. A large pond, over 1,000 gallons, would be a more suitable home[6]...
(family Catostomidae
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
) have a single row of pharyngeal teeth that have comb-like arrangements.
The lower pharyngeal bones of cichlids also carry specialized teeth which augment their normal mandibular teeth in the breakdown of food.
The Cape Fear Shiner
Cape Fear Shiner
The Cape Fear Shiner, Notropis mekistocholas, is a species of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family. It is endemic to the central part of the state of North Carolina in the southeastern United States and is only found in the shallow streams of the Cape Fear River Basin. The fish is small and...
(family Cyprinidae) only has pharyngeal teeth (teeth located on the back of the fish's throat on its gill arches), similar to the teeth of other omnivorous shiners.
To crunch exoskeleton
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
s the Redear sunfish
Redear sunfish
The redear sunfish , also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch, is native to the southeastern United States, but since it is a popular sport fish it has been introduced to bodies of water all over North America...
(family Centrarchidae
Centrarchidae
The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
) has thick pharyngeal teeth composed of hard, movable plates in its throat.
The pharyngeal jaws
Pharyngeal jaws
Pharyngeal jaws are a "second set" of jaws contained within an animal's throat, or pharynx, distinct from the primary jaws. They are believed to have originated as modified gill arches, in much the same way as oral jaws....
of the Moray eel
Moray eel
Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
(family Muraenidae) possess their own set of teeth.
Molidae
Molidae
Molidae is the family of the molas or ocean sunfishes, unique fish whose bodies come to an end just behind the dorsal and anal fins, giving them a "half-a-fish" appearance...
are said to be able to produce sound by grinding their pharyngeal teeth, which are long and claw-like.
The dentary of Sternarchogiton nattereri
Sternarchogiton nattereri
Sternarchogiton nattereri is a species of weakly electric knifefish in the family Apteronotidae. It is native to the Amazon River system and feeds on sponges. Unlike other members of the genus Sternarchogiton, there is pronounced sexual dimorphism in S. nattereri, with reproductively mature males...
(family Apteronotidae) has upper and lower pharyngeal tooth plates bearing 9-11 and 7-9 teeth respectively.
In the Priapulida
Priapulida
Priapulida is a phylum of marine worms. They are named for their extensible spiny proboscis, which, in some species, may have a shape like that of a human penis...
the mouth cone (“everted pharynx”) of a possible new species of Meiopriapulus bears pharyngeal teeth.
Fossils of the Yunnanozoon
Yunnanozoon
Yunnanozoon lividum is a suspected a hemichordate or chordate from the Lower Cambrian, Chengjiang biota of Yunnan province, China....
and Haikouella
Haikouella
Haikouella is a probable chordate from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan shales of Chengjiang County in Yunnan Province, China.It is similar to the form Yunnanozoon, which is possibly a hemichordate. Still, there are anatomical differences from Yunnanozoon, including a larger stomach and smaller ...
possess pharyngeal teeth.