Bass Has Two Mouths!

While fishing a private pond in Cobb County on Sept. 30, Phillip Walker III, of Marietta, caught a bass that he reported as having two mouths. A bass with two mouths? The news certainly had my attention, so I met with Phillip to see the fish firsthand.

The fish actually has a second jaw that leads to the shared throat. The secondary, smaller jaw was directly below the primary jaw. This bottom jaw couldn’t create the sucking action that would have allowed the bass to engulf prey and feed. However, it probably did not interfere with the bass’ feeding habits. The 10-inch bass was in
 good body condition, which told me it was feeding just fine.

It’s hard to say exactly what the cause of the anomaly is. The secondary mouth is either a genetic mutation, or it occurred from an injury to the bass’ lower mouth at a younger age. Either way, this is extremely rare. The only other two-mouthed fish I’ve heard of was a trout in Nebraska.

Phillip did wonder if he’d ever eat fish from the pond again.

Editor’s Note: Greg Grimes is a fisheries biologist and owner of Aquatic Environmental Services and can be reached at 770.378.6285 or through http://lakework.com.

Phillip Walker III, of Marietta, caught this two-mouthed bass in Cobb County on Sept. 30, 2010.