"The spotted ratfish is a two-foot-long fish with a big head and a long, skinny tail that lives in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. It belongs to a group of fish called chimaeras that are closely related to sharks. (Chimaeras are sometimes called ghost sharks.) Like most vertebrate creatures, it has teeth in its mouth. Unlike other vertebrates it also has teeth in another location: its forehead. It uses these forehead teeth for sex."
"Researchers have finally traced the origin of the spotted ratfish's bizarre forehead teeth, which are used for mating By Kate Wong edited by Jeanna Bryner The researchers identified teeth on the tenaculum of ancient relatives to the modern adult male spotted ratfish. This fossil record helped them establish the historical significance of this structure, brought to life by local artist Ray Troll."
Spotted ratfish are two-foot-long chimaeras living in the northeastern Pacific with a large head, long skinny tail, and mouth teeth like other vertebrates. Male spotted ratfish also possess unusual forehead teeth that line a cartilaginous appendage called a tenaculum. The tenaculum can be erected and used to grasp a female during mating, functioning alongside pelvic claspers. Fossils show teeth on the tenacula of ancient relatives, indicating the structure's historical significance and tracing the origin of forehead teeth. Many close relatives—sharks, rays, and skates—have denticles, toothlike skin structures that may relate to the ratfish's extra teeth.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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