Pharyngeal teeth are

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

in the

pharyngeal arch The pharyngeal arches, also known as visceral arches'','' are transient structures seen in the Animal embryonic development, embryonic development of humans and other vertebrates, that are recognisable precursors for many structures. In fish, t ...

of the throat of

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a Family (biology), family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barb (fish), barbs and barbel (fish), barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the ...

s, suckers, and a number of other

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

species otherwise lacking teeth."Suckers ''Catostomidae''"
Iowa Department of Natural Resources Many popular aquarium fish such as

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the w ...

and

loach Loaches are ray-finned fishes of the suborder Cobitoidei. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and North Africa, northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the ...

es have these structures. Members of the genus '' Botia'' such as clown loaches are known to make distinctive clicking sounds when they grind their pharyngeal teeth. Grunts (family Haemulidae) are so called because of the sound they make when they grind them. Molas are said to be able to produce sound by grinding their long, claw-like pharyngeal teeth. The Chinese high fin banded shark (''Myxocyprinus asiaticus'') (family

Catostomidae The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order (biology), order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family (biology), family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclusively native to North America. The only exceptions are ' ...

) has a single row of pharyngeal teeth with comb-like arrangements.''Myxocyprinus asiaticus'', Chinese sucker fish, Filamn.ifm-Geomar.de, 2006
retrieved on: August 21, 2007 The Cape Fear shiner (family

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and t ...

) only has pharyngeal teeth, similar to the teeth of other omnivorous shiners. The

redear sunfish The redear sunfish (''Lepomis microlophus''), also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, and sun perch, is a freshwater fish in the family Centrarchidae and is native to the southeastern United States ...

(family Centrarchidae) has thick pharyngeal teeth composed of hard, movable plates, which it uses to crush the

exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

s of prey. The

pharyngeal jaw Pharyngeal jaws are a "second set" of jaws contained within an animal's throat, or pharynx, distinct from the primary or oral jaws. They are believed to have originated as modified gill arches, in much the same way as oral jaws. Originally hypoth ...

s of the

moray eel Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family (biology), family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively Marine (ocean), marine, but several species are regu ...

(family

Muraenidae Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, ...

) possess their own set of teeth. The

dentary In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone ...

of the ghost knifefish species ''

Sternarchogiton nattereri ''Sternarchogiton nattereri'' is a species of weakly electric fish, weakly electric Gymnotiformes, knifefish in the family Apteronotidae. It is native to the Amazon basin, Amazon River system and feeds on sponges. Unlike other members of the genu ...

'' (family Apteronotidae) has upper and lower pharyngeal tooth plates bearing 9–11 and 7–9 teeth, respectively. The mouth cone ("everted pharynx") of a possible new species of ''Meiopriapulus'', a marine worm in the

Priapulida Priapulida (priapulid worms, from Gr. πριάπος, ''priāpos'' ' Priapus' + Lat. ''-ul-'', diminutive), sometimes referred to as penis worms, is a phylum of unsegmented marine worms. The name of the phylum relates to the Greek god of fertilit ...

, bears pharyngeal teeth. Fossils of the '' Yunnanozoon'' and '' Haikouella'' possess pharyngeal teeth. The lower pharyngeal bones of

cichlid Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

s also carry specialized teeth which augment their normal mandibular teeth in the breakdown of food.

References

{{diversity of fish Fish anatomy Teeth

See also

References