This diverse diet helps sustain the wolf eel’s enormous (wolf-like) appetite. Wolf eels have teeth on the roof of their mouths to be able to crunch even the toughest of shells. This is true, but along with fish, wolf eels use their large teeth and massive jaws to prey on hard-shelled invertebrates like mussels, crabs and even spiny sea urchins. The large teeth and jaws of the wolf eel may have you thinking they would be successful fish predators.
A wolf eel swims into a hole in the rocks using its long body. The body shape and movement of a wolf eel is similar to another eel-like fish we discussed a few weeks ago, gunnels. This body shape lets them slide into dark crevices and move stealthily along the seafloor. Wolf eels still have pectoral fins like most fishes, but the rest of their elongate body looks very eel-like. And yes, I said fish! Even though their common name suggests that they are an eel, wolf eels ( Anarrhichthys ocellatus) are part of the wolffish family and not true eels. While their bulbous heads and large, toothy mouths can look frightening, these fish are generally slow-moving and sedentary. Well, maybe not to their prey, but with divers, they tend to shy away in their caves and peek out. Hidden in the darkness of the deep, wolf eels are not as dangerous as they look according to The Marine Detective. Sea Discovery: Wolf eels, the not so terrifying “wolf-ish” fish
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