The animal with the most elastic mouth

Many animals are able to enlarge the size of their mouths significantly. It makes it easier for them to eat their prey. Some reach unimaginable sizes. But what is the animal with the most elastic mouth?

What is the animal with the most elastic mouth?
Snakes and more

Large numbers of rodents and some primates have expandable pouches on their cheeks. You use them to store food. Hamsters are perhaps the best-known example of this trait. These animals have pockets that can hold up to 20% of their total body weight. This curiosity details Business Insider.

Another animal known for its elastic mouth is the snake. These reptiles are capable of devouring an entire meal in one giant bite. That’s because their jaws are not connected to their skulls. Flexible ligaments are connected and stretch to accommodate large prey.

Most likely, snakes are the land animals with the most resilient mouths. However, the podium changes when aquatic animals are included.

The largest animals in the world also have mouths that expand to impressive sizes. Blue and fin whales are the largest animals in the world. You can swallow more than 100,000 liters of water at a time. This is possible thanks to its anatomy. They have dozens of stretchable grooves (belly folds) from their jaws to their navel.

And the winner is ... the pelican fish.
And the winner is … the pelican fish.
Whales and pelicans

Fin whales are a family that belongs to these whales. They swallow huge amounts of water to filter it. From there they take out their prey. The feeding mechanism of these large whales is similar to that of another animal with a highly elastic mouth: pelicans. These birds have elastic skin under their beaks. So they use it to get fish out of the water. For example, brown pelicans can hold up to 11 liters of water in their pouches. These, according to Animal Diversity Web.

What is the animal with the most elastic mouth? Now let’s talk about the pelican fish. It’s about Eurypharynx pelecanoides. It can be thought of as a combination of all of the other creatures mentioned. They have bodies similar to snakes. They use feeding techniques like whales. And they have a leather bag that can expand in almost any direction.

The pelican fish can expand its mouth to more than five times its original size. Therefore, you can take into account the official winner of this competition.

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