Operculum (fish) required, such as ventilation.. Operculum (fish) The operculum is a series of bones found in bony fish that serves as a facial support structure and a protective covering for the gills; it is also used for respiration and feeding. The opercular series contains four bone segments known as the preoperculum, suboperculum, interoperculum and operculum. The preoperculum is a crescent-shaped structure that has a series of ridges directed posterodorsally to the organisms canal pores. The preoperculum can be located through an exposed condyle that is present immediately under its ventral margin; it also borders the operculum, suboperculum, and interoperculum posteriorly. The
Largetooth cookiecutter shark and sparsely scattered light-emitting photophores on the belly. Most specimens have lacked the dark "collar" found on the throat of "I. brasiliensis". However, a specimen caught in 2004 off the Azores did possess the collar. The maximum recorded length is . Based on its smaller dorsal and caudal fins, the largetooth cookiecutter shark is believed to be less active than "I. brasiliensis" and an overall weak swimmer. Much of its body cavity is occupied by an enormous oil-filled liver, which allows it to maintain neutral buoyancy in the water column with little effort. Unlike "I. brasiliensis", this shark possesses binocular