adjective
- lacking a jaw or jaws; having no lower jaw
Usage: often used in zoology to describe certain fish species
Examples
- Lampreys are jawless fish that feed by attaching to other fish.
- The jawless creatures of the ancient seas eventually gave way to jawed fish.
- Scientists study jawless vertebrates to understand early fish evolution.
- A jawless mouth can still be effective for feeding, as lampreys demonstrate.
- The fossil record shows that jawless fish dominated the oceans millions of years ago.