Intro to Teeth

Chomp chomp chew

Naming teeth…

Animals’ teeth varies based on type of diet

• Carnivores (meat eaters)-serrated teeth or sharp beak or teeth to slice and swallow

Gar

• Piscivores (fish eaters)-many pointy teeth

Barracuda

Eagle

Cougar

• Herbivores (plant eaters)-Deer, horses, rodents & rabbits have flattened, nearly identical pre-molars & molars. These teeth have exposed enamel & dentine ridges on their surfaces to grind plants.  Rodents have ever-growing incisors for gnawing plants or wood.

horse

rabbit iguana

• Durophagous (hard or shelled prey)-broadly rounded, short and conical

• Insectivores (insect eaters)-for hard-bodied insects, predators have V or W shaped teeth; for soft-bodied insects, teeth are reduced, insects are retrieved with tongue

Caiman lizard

armadillo

• Planktivores (plankton eaters)-shovel-like bills or baleen

Shoveler (bird)

Baleen whale

• Omnivores (plant and animal eaters)-– Primates (including humans) and pigs are

good examples.   – Pre-molars & molars have small cusps for

grinding, but are not otherwise highly specialized. 

– Canines may be short or long & may be used for function unrelated to killing prey.

Human

primatepig