Learn species of jaws filled with mysterious sharp teeth

A small fish with sharp jaws is a mystery that hurts scientists to study it.

Kryptoglanis shajii is a catfish that lives underground , only 10cm long and has many limited features of bone structure such as the lower jaw. The strange bony face of this fish has hindered scientists in classifying them.

Ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to see this fish because it only lives in one place in the world: the Western Ghats in Kerala, India.

Close up of the facial bone structure of Kryptoglanis fish.(Photo: Live Science)

Although most of the time they hid themselves in the ground, sometimes they were raised in the streams, wells and rice fields around it.

Scientists' knowledge of this species is so small that they are still unable to declare it a new species until 2011.

At that time, John Lundberg, who was in charge of the Fisheries Department, the Academy of Natural Sciences under Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA), began to study more deeply about this strange fish.

'The more we study the bone structure of this fish, the more we feel strange. Their characteristics are very different, making us very hard to put them into the genealogy of catfish ".

The appearance of fish Kryptoglanis shajii is similar to other catfish, but when studied carefully, the scientists made surprising findings.

Lundberg and colleagues took electronic X-rays and scanned three-dimensional images to study the bone structure of this fish, and found that they lacked some bones.

This finding is still not enough to stir scientists because in fact some other underground fish species also have missing bones. However, what really surprises here is the shape of some very specific and never caught bones of Kryptoglanis fish in any species.

A lot of single bones on the face of this fish have changed, making their faces seem to be compressed with a ham-like jaw. This fish also has 4 rows of sharp conical teeth.

Lundberg said that these unique and diverse bone structures may have some functional purpose.'In dogs, the appearance is especially due to selective breeding. But with this fish, we still don't know for sure what happened during natural evolution that made them look like they are now. "

Kryptoglanis fish.(Photo: Live Science)

Scientists have eliminated the possibility that the bizarre face of this fish is the result of their diet, because based on their tooth structure and underground environment, they are capable of eating only the animals. Invertebrates and larvae.

The mystery of species 11:15:39 made other scientists pay close attention. Ralf Britz, a fish researcher at the Museum of Natural History (London, England) led a separate study of the particular bone structure of the fish.

Unlike Lundberg's research, research by Britz and colleagues uses a technique called "bleaching and dyeing."

This technique uses chemicals to expose these fish's tissues on clear glass, as well as make their bones and cartilage appear on contrasting stained glass.

However, there are still many unknowns about this mysterious fish. For example, both studies have yet to conclude with certainty as to why the Kryptoglanis fish are so unusual compared to other fish, as well as not showing which species may be their closest relatives.