Tilapia are multi-jawed monsters

Tilapia is a kind of small fish native to lakes and rivers in Africa and the Middle East. You’re probably familiar with it as a cheap farmed fish that’s thin and easy to cook. They’re convenient to farm because they’re omnivores and thus easy to feed – unlike, say, carnivorous salmon. In fact, humans have been farming tilapia since Ancient Egypt. From the outside (or a packaged fillet), tilapia looks like a pretty typical fish. But don’t let that fool you: tilapia are actually horror movie monsters. Imagine you’re a tiny fish who’s just been caught by a fearsome tilapia. Your energy is spent, and you know the end is near. In your final moments, as you resign yourself to your fate, the tilapia opens its jaws… …and then it opens a second set of jaws in its throat. Chiclids, the family of fish that includes tilapia, have evolved a second set of jaws in their throat, called the “pharyngeal jaws”. These help the fish pull captured prey deeper into their throat, and may be part of why they…