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Exhibit
See the Black musselcracker (poenskop) at Two Oceans Aquarium in this exhibit:
Black musselcracker (poenskop) Cymatoceps nasutus
Photograph by Geoff Spiby
Fast facts
- Has four cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw and six in the lower jaw, as well as two rows of rounded molars in each jaw
- Listed on the SASSI Customer Seafood List as Orange (caution)
Black musselcrackers have powerful jaws with a set of impressive teeth – four cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw and six in the lower jaw, as well as two rows of rounded molars in each jaw.
They use these teeth to crush starfish, sea urchins, crabs and chitons.
The Afrikaans name, “poenskop”, means “skinhead”.
The black musselcracker is listed on the SASSI Customer Seafood List as Orange (caution).