Moray Eel Skull Replica

$106.00

Moray Eel or Lycodontis funebris body is generally patterned. In some species, the inside of the mouth is also patterned. Their jaws are wide, framing a protruding snout. Most possess large teeth used to tear flesh or grasp slippery prey items.

Description

Moray Eel Skull Replica measures 5.5 x 3 x 3 3/4 inches. Moray Eel Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in USA. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

Moray Eel, Muraenidae or Lycodontis funebris are a cosmopolitan family of eels. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and very few are found in fresh water.

The dorsal fin of the Lycodontis funebris extends from just behind the head along the back and joins seamlessly with the caudal and anal fins.

Most species lack pectoral and pelvic fins, adding to their serpentine appearance. Their eyes are rather small; morays rely mostly on their highly developed sense of smell, lying in wait to ambush prey.

Moray eel or Lycodontis funebris body is generally patterned. In some species, the inside of the mouth is also patterned. Their jaws are wide, framing a protruding snout. Most possess large teeth used to tear flesh or grasp slippery prey items.

Moray eel or Lycodontis funebris secrete a protective mucus over their smooth, scaleless skin, which in some species contains a toxin. They have much thicker skin and high densities of goblet cells in the epidermis that allows mucus to be produced at a higher rate than in other eel species.

This allows sand granules to adhere to the sides of their burrows in sand-dwelling, thus making the walls of the burrow more permanent due to the glycosylation of mucins in mucus.

Lycodontis funebris have small circular gills, located on the flanks far posterior to the mouth, require the moray to maintain a gap to facilitate respiration.

The pharyngeal jaws of  Moray eel or Lycodontis funebris are located farther back in the head and closely resemble the oral jaws (complete with tiny “teeth”).

When feeding, morays launch these jaws into the mouth cavity, where they grasp prey and transport it into the throat. They are the only known animals that use pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey in this way.

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Additional information

Weight 8 lbs
Dimensions 5.5 × 3 × 3.75 in
Moray eel Facts

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Suborder: Muraenoidei
Family: Muraenidae