Male "ghost sharks"—eerie deep-sea fish known as chimaeras that are related to sharks and rays—have a strange rod jutting from their foreheads, studded with sharp, retractable teeth. New research appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals these are not merely lookalikes, but real rows of teeth that grow outside the mouth.
  • celeste@kbin.earth
    6·
    8 days ago

    Found only in males, the forehead rod—called a tenaculum—is the ghost sharks’ only source of distinct teeth, and it seems to be used to grasp females in much the same way sharks use their toothy mouths in mating.

    Tenaculum is the new word of the day!