Bony-Tongued Fish

The bony-tongued fish (Osteoglossomorpha) are a group of teleost fish that include about 150 living species. Bony-tongued fish, as their name implies, have bones (or teeth) on their tongue. This enables them to grasp onto prey with greater efficiency. The arowana of South America, for example, has a long, sleek body that enables it to jump out of the river to catch prey from overhanging branches, grasping it with its toothed-tongue. Other bony tongued fish include the Old World knifefishes and the elephant trunk fishes from Africa.