pharyngeal jaw

A form of pharyngeal jaws — A secondary set of toothed bones or cartilage located deep within a fish's pharynx (or throat), behind the primary oral jaws; this second set of jaws are distinct from the main mouth jaws and are typically used to process food (like crushing, grinding, or tearing) and transport it to the esophagus, after the primary jaws have captured the prey.

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Meanings

nounpharyngeal jaw (plural pharyngeal jaws)

plural pharyngeal jaws

  1. singularsingular of pharyngeal jaws
Cite this entry
APA

pharyngeal jaw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pharyngeal%20jaw

MLA

“pharyngeal jaw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pharyngeal%20jaw. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pharyngeal jaw,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pharyngeal%20jaw.

Source: pharyngeal jaw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.