MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | Deep-sea dancing with this snipe eel. 🪩 @MBARIvideo | Uploaded March 2024 | Updated October 2024, 4 hours ago.
This unique deep-sea resident is Avocettina bowersii, also known as a snipe eel. Snipe eels in the family Nemichthyidae have thin, tweezer-like jaws that bend outwards. It was long debated how these fish actually eat, but we now know that they have tiny, backward-facing teeth that work almost like velcro. They use them to capture small crustaceans and bring prey into their mouths with a series of rapid chomps.
This unique deep-sea resident is Avocettina bowersii, also known as a snipe eel. Snipe eels in the family Nemichthyidae have thin, tweezer-like jaws that bend outwards. It was long debated how these fish actually eat, but we now know that they have tiny, backward-facing teeth that work almost like velcro. They use them to capture small crustaceans and bring prey into their mouths with a series of rapid chomps.
