The fish with teeth so big it has sockets in its brain case
Its fangs are so long it cannot close its mouth, so it evolved sockets in its skull.
Which one is REALLY true about the Fangtooth?
The short version
The fangtooth has the largest teeth relative to body size of any fish. Its lower fangs are so long that it cannot close its jaws over them, so it has two pockets either side of its brain that the teeth slide into. It is only about 16cm long and lives up to 2km down.
Why it's so weird
- ✓The Fangtooth has the largest teeth of any fish on Earth relative to its body size.
- ✓The Fangtooth cannot close its mouth over its own lower fangs, so two pockets either side of its brain take the tips.
- ✓The Fangtooth would stab itself in the skull every time it shut its jaws if those sockets did not exist.
- ✓The Fangtooth lives in the deep ocean, sometimes two kilometres below the surface.
- ✓The Fangtooth is only about sixteen centimetres long, roughly the size of your hand.
You could line up about 7 of them along a 7-year-old!
The full story
This fish has the largest teeth of any animal on Earth, relative to its size. Meet the fangtooth, which lives in the deep ocean, sometimes two kilometres down. Its lower fangs are so long that it physically cannot close its mouth over them. So evolution gave it sockets. There are two pockets, one on either side of its brain, that the teeth slide up into when its jaws shut. Without them, it would stab itself in the skull every time it closed its mouth. It is only about sixteen centimetres long, but in permanent darkness, where a meal might drift past once a month, it cannot afford to lose one. So it grew a mouth that almost nothing escapes. Follow for more weird animal facts.
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“The Fangtooth has the largest teeth of any fish on Earth relative to its body size.”
“The Fangtooth is the smallest fox on Earth, weighing less than a bag of sugar.”
“The Fangtooth cannot close its mouth over its own lower fangs, so two pockets either side of its brain take the tips.”