# Dragonfish Have 'Invisible' Teeth to Help Them Sneak Up on Their Prey - [Dragonfish Have 'Invisible' Teeth to Help Them Sneak Up on Their Prey | New Scientist](https://newscientist.com/article/2205559-dragonfish-have-invisible-teeth-to-help-them-sneak-up-on-their-prey) - References: [Why deep-sea dragonfish have such extraordinary jaws](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328485-400-why-deep-sea-dragonfish-have-such-extraordinary-jaws/) (written 2012-01-21) - Used for [[2021.09.20 Dentition]] ## Highlights ### dragonfish are tiny but fierce > While dragonfish are only the size of a pencil, they are fearsome predators at the top of the food chain. > ### dragonfish have transparent teeth > the teeth contain grain-sized nanocrystals spread throughout the enamel. Materials are transparent when light can pass through them with little scattering, and because these structures in the surface of the teeth are so small, they don’t scatter or reflect much light. > Deep-sea fish have evolved transparent teeth which, along with their black bodies, make them invisible to prey. ### dragonfish have a strange bite > Their thin, eel-like bodies support a huge black mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, that can widen to swallow prey half their size: > > The oversize fangs of some dragonfish may help them to snap their weak jaws shut around prey, improving their odds of bagging a meal: > > The dragonfish family (Stomiidae) go after large prey, and so have jaws that open wide. Closing them quickly is not easy, since drag increases exponentially with jaw length, and rises even more if bulky prey are sticking out the front. What’s more, dragonfish jaw muscles are very weak. > > Shutting them around prey lying on its side takes up to 1 second – more than enough time to allow it to get away. However, that drops to just 125 milliseconds when the prey is lodged upright between the teeth. The fangs may not just impale prey as previously thought but help keep it in the best orientation to reduce drag on the jaw when it shuts.