"There are times when life imitates art. Then there are times when life imitates science fiction," the Loom's Carl Zimmer writes in todays' The New York Times article on the jaws of moray eels. And there are times when the jaws that belong to that life latch down on your left ring finger and you shriek in pain, as I did when a baby jeweled moray eel bit me while exploring a Galapagos tidepool. Read all about the moray's feisty bite here. The article is better than the real thing.
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This article is reposted from the old Wordpress incarnation of Not Exactly Rocket Science.
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Another cool trait of the moray bite...if the object is just too big to chomp on whole, the eel can tie its tail into a knot and move the knot up its body, and using this as leverage pull its head through the knot, taking a chunk of finger flesh along with it.
That third link doesn't work for me.
Sorry Milan! It was linked via NYTimes Select. It should be fixed now.
It is fixed now. Thanks.