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Index of Subjects ------=_Part_4552_9851150.1217593083099 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Although bones and skeletons are my thing, I'm not all that good at identifying fish. When Bernard wrote "The fish has some rather distinct and menacing looking teeth" I immediately thought it was going to be one of our Wolffishes. Although the structure of the skeleton resembles a wolffish (big head on a flexible body) the front teeth, as best as I can see them, do not indicate a wolffish (see http://www.fiskeri.no/english/Wolffish1.jpg, http://www.lophelia.org/images/jpeg/1024wolffish.jpg). In reality, the teeth on the fish in Rita's pictures are pretty typical for fish, that is somewhat conical and often curved or bent back. The conical shape for teeth is an adaption to eating slippery stuff (typically other fish), and we see that style of tooth (with some modification) in other fish eaters like alligators and some of the toothed whales. Mergansers have similar adaptions, though they don't have teeth, but extensions of the bill that form a similar shape. The backwards bend to the teeth in the photo is reminiscent of snake teeth - in both cases, prey that struggles and frees itself from the teeth can only do so by moving farther back into the mouth. 2008/8/1 Bernard Burke <blburke@ns.sympatico.ca> > Hi All > > Rita Viau photographed some fish bones back in May along a Cape Breton > shoreline that we are having trouble identifying and would appreciate any > assistance. The fish has some rather distinct and menacing looking teeth. > here are some photos: > > http://bernieb.smugmug.com/gallery/916397_ynXPk/5/48802225_gPjhG/Medium > > http://bernieb.smugmug.com/gallery/916397_ynXPk/5/48802228_Th9z3/Medium > > Here is a cropped version showing a closeup of the teeth: > > http://bernieb.smugmug.com/gallery/916397_ynXPk/5/48802231_gLtUb/Medium > > Thanks to anyone who can assist. > > Cheers > > Bernard Burke > blburke@ns.sympatico.ca > Dartmouth > Randy _________________________________ RF Lauff Way in the boonies of Antigonish County, NS. ------=_Part_4552_9851150.1217593083099 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline <div dir="ltr"><div><font size="4">Although bones and skeletons are my thing, I'm not all that good at identifying fish. When Bernard wrote "The fish has some rather distinct and menacing looking teeth" I immediately thought it was going to be one of our Wolffishes. Although the structure of the skeleton resembles a wolffish (big head on a flexible body) the front teeth, as best as I can see them, do not indicate a wolffish (see </font>http://www.fiskeri.no/english/Wolffish1.jpg, http://www.lophelia.org/images/jpeg/1024wolffish.jpg<font size="4">).</font></div> <div><font size="4"></font> </div> <div><font size="4">In reality, the teeth on the fish in Rita's pictures are pretty typical for fish, that is somewhat conical and often curved or bent back. The conical shape for teeth is an adaption to eating slippery stuff (typically other fish), and we see that style of tooth (with some modification) in other fish eaters like alligators and some of the toothed whales. Mergansers have similar adaptions, though they don't have teeth, but extensions of the bill that form a similar shape. </font></div> <div><font size="4"></font> </div> <div><font size="4">The backwards bend to the teeth in the photo is reminiscent of snake teeth - in both cases, prey that struggles and frees itself from the teeth can only do so by moving farther back into the mouth.</font><br> <br></div> <div class="gmail_quote">2008/8/1 Bernard Burke <span dir="ltr"><blburke@ns.sympatico.ca></span><br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid"> <div bgcolor="#ffffff"> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Hi All</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Rita Viau photographed some fish bones back in May along a Cape Breton shoreline that we are having trouble identifying and would appreciate any assistance. The fish has some rather distinct and menacing looking teeth. here are some photos:</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">http://bernieb.smugmug.com/gallery/916397_ynXPk/5/48802225_gPjhG/Medium</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">http://bernieb.smugmug.com/gallery/916397_ynXPk/5/48802228_Th9z3/Medium</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Here is a cropped version showing a closeup of the teeth:</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">http://bernieb.smugmug.com/gallery/916397_ynXPk/5/48802231_gLtUb/Medium</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Thanks to anyone who can assist.</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Cheers</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2"></font> </div><font color="#888888"> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Bernard Burke</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">blburke@ns.sympatico.ca</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Dartmouth</font></div></font></div></blockquote></div><br><br cle