Pharyngeal jaw

A secondary set of jaws in a fish’s throat, formed from modified gill-arch bones and often bearing teeth. It processes food after capture by the mouth jaws.

Pharyngeal teeth: Teeth borne on the pharyngeal bones of fishes, used to grip, crush, or grind food. These teeth provide the surfaces that process food inside the throat.
Molluscivory: A feeding strategy based on eating molluscs, such as snails and clams. Some pharyngeal jaws crush the hard shells of molluscs.
Evolution of the pharyngeal jaw in cichlid fishes: The evolutionary history of specialized pharyngeal jaws in cichlid fishes. Cichlids provide a well-studied case of pharyngeal-jaw diversification.
Oral jaw: The mouth-associated jaw apparatus used by many vertebrates to capture and manipulate food. Unlike the oral jaw, the pharyngeal jaw lies in the throat and typically processes captured food.
Branchial arch: A skeletal arch in the pharynx of a fish that supports gills and related structures. Pharyngeal jaws develop from bones associated with these arches.
Herbivory: A feeding strategy in which animals consume plants or algae. Broad, grinding pharyngeal teeth help some fishes process plant material.
Gill arch: A skeletal support for the gills, composed of bones or cartilage in fishes. Pharyngeal-jaw elements derive from the posterior gill-arch skeleton.
Gill raker: A projection on a fish’s gill arch that helps retain food or protect gill filaments. Gill rakers share the gill-arch region but filter or retain particles rather than act as jaws.
Suspensorium: The skeletal structure that connects the jaws to the skull in many fishes. Its movements can coordinate with pharyngeal-jaw motion during feeding.
Piscivory: A feeding strategy in which an animal eats other fish. Pharyngeal jaws can grip or restrain prey after the mouth captures it.

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