Animal teeth

Animals' teeth are different

depending upon what foods
they eat.
Meat-eaters (carnivores)
have sharp teeth.
Plant-eaters (herbivores)
have flat teeth.
Animals that eat both plants
and meat, like humans,
have sharp teeth in front
and flat teeth at the back.

1. What does an anteater eat? ants,

termites and soft fruit
2. What does a grizzly bear eat? Fruit,
berries, nuts, insects, honey, fish,
lizards and rodents
3. What does a bobcat eat? Rabbits,
rodents, sheep, deer and birds
4. What does a chimpanzee eat? Nuts,
berries, fruit, insects and small
mammals
5. What does a deer eat? Leaves, fruit,
vines and grasses
6. What does an otter eat? Fish, frogs,
small mammals and insects
7. What does a giraffe eat? Leaves,
shrubs, vines and herbs

8. What does a maned wolf eat? Small

mammals, reptiles, birds, and some
fruit

Sharks lose teeth each

week. They get new teeth
when they lose the old ones.
They may have over 20,000
teeth in a lifetime.
Crocodiles have 60 teeth in
their mouth at any one time
and can grow up to 2-3,000
teeth during their lifetime.
Poisonous snakes have
hollow fangs which eject
poison.

Giraffes have 32 teeth, just

like humans.
Elephants have four sets of
teeth in their lifetime. Their
tusks are the longest teeth
in the world.
Dolphins have more teeth
than any other animal.
Some dolphins have over
200 teeth. Scientists can tell
the age of a dolphin by the
rings on their teeth.
Snowshoe rabbits fight
with their teeth. Adult
males, called bucks, fight
one another with their teeth

when they court the females

or does.
Baleen whales don't have
teeth. Instead they have
stiff, fringed plates, made of
the same stuff as human
hair and fingernails. They
hang down from the upper
jaw and trap small fish and
other food.
Teeth in animals vary greatly. Some animals, such as turtles
and tortoises, are toothless. Other animals, such as sharks, may
go through many teeth in their lifetime. The multiple
replacement of teeth is known as polyphedont. Since the
appearance of teeth reflects their function, the animal's diet
may correspond to types of teeth. For example, carnassials are
teeth in carnivores used for slicing food. Elephants' tusks are
specialized incisors for digging food up and fighting.

Types of Animal Teeth

Animal teeth have evolved and developed through the centuries

in response to the particular eating and chewing needs of the
individual species. Some teeth are highly developed in different
animals for specific purposes. Meat-eating or fish-eating animals
such as the tiger and seal have well-formed canines, that is,
pointed teeth, also known as dogteeth and eyeteeth, for holding
and tearing food. Horses and cattle, which are herbivores, have
well-formed incisors for cutting grassy or pulpy foods, and broad,
flat molars for grinding. Animals such as dogs and cats, which
crush and tear their food, have many well-developed canines
and sharp, narrow molars. Animals such as elephants, which
grind their food, have large molars with many flat cusps.
A few mammals and most fish and reptiles have open-rooted
teeth that grow continuously to replace teeth eroded by use.
Rodents generally have some open-rooted anterior teeth, as do
tusked animals such as elephants and walruses. The beaver
constantly uses its incisors to cut materials for building, and the
incisors may grow at a rate of as much as 1.2 m (4 ft) in one
year.
Many fish and reptiles have several forms of teeth, commonly of
the sharp, cutting variety, used for grasping their prey. Several
kinds of reptiles and fish may have teeth growing on the tongue,
the palate, or as a second set in the throat. The teeth of
crocodiles and alligators are firmly implanted in the jaw, much
like human teeth. Turtles do not have teeth but only hard, sharpedged bony plates on both jaws. Some toothless amphibians,
such as frogs, may develop an egg tooth, which is used by the
young animal to break through the egg. These teeth are shed
shortly after birth and never reappear. Poisonous reptiles, such
as rattlesnakes, have well-formed incisor teeth, or fangs, which
they use to inject poison into their prey. Vampire bats have
similarly well-developed incisors.
Types of Animal Teeth
Incisors - are mainly concerned with getting food
Canines - are mainly concerned with getting food and as
weapons. Well developed canines are called "fangs" - eg big
cats, or "tusks" eg walrus, hippos, elephant.

 Premolars and molars are used for chewing and grinding

food (mastication)
Ruminants (cattle, sheep goats) have evolved without canine
teeth because they eat plant material, they do not have to catch
prey and they are placid herding creatures.
Dogs and cats on the other hand have well developed canines
reflecting their natural food in the wild - live prey.
The shape and size of teeth varies between species . Cats and
dogs have one very large cheek tooth - called the "carnasial"
tooth - and they use this to gnaw at bones to remove the muscle
and other soft tissues, whereas in horses and ruminants the
crowns of the cheek teeth are all much the same in shape and
size as they are used to grind plant material.
In many species ( but not man, dogs or cats) the teeth can
continue to grow for a considerable period of the animal's
lifetime. This is especially true of rodents (mice, rats), cavies
(guinea pigs) and lagomorphs (rabbits) in which they can
continue to grow throughout life. In these species the two large
incisors at the front of the mouth rely on contact with teeth on
the opposite jaw to wear them down and keep them the correct
length. If for some reason the teeth do not meet properly they
will become very long, and grow in a curve - eventually stopping
the animal from eating.
9. What does an eagle eat? Fish, small mammals and waterfowl

Reptiles
The teeth of reptiles are replaced constantly during their life.
Juvenile crocodilians replace teeth with larger ones at a rate as
high as 1 new tooth per socket every month. Once adult, tooth
replacement rates can slow to two years and even longer. Over
all, crocodilians may use 3,000 teeth from birth to death. New
teeth are created within old teeth.
Whales
Toothed whales is a suborder of the cetaceans characterized by
having teeth. The teeth differ considerably between the species.
They may be numerous, with some dolphins bearing over 100

teeth in their jaws. On the other hand, the narwhals have a giant
unicorn-like tusk, which is a tooth containing millions of sensory
pathways and used for sensing during feeding, navigation and
mating. It is the most neurologically complex tooth known.
Beaked whales are almost toothless, with only bizarre teeth
found in males. These teeth may be used for feeding but also for
demonstrating aggression and showmanship.
Rabbit
Rabbits and other Lagomorphs usually shed their deciduous
teeth before (or very shortly after) their birth, and are usually
born with their permanent teeth. [3] The teeth of rabbits
complement their diet, which consist of a wide range of
vegetation. Since many of the foods are abrasive enough to
cause attrition, rabbit teeth grow continuously throughout life. [4]
Rabbits have a total of 6 incisors, three upper premolars, three
upper molars, two lower premolars, and two lower molars on
each side. There are no canines. Three to four millimeters of
tooth is worn away by incisors every week, whereas the
posterior teeth require a month to wear away the same amount.
[5]

Rodent
Rodents' incisors grow continuously throughout their lives, a
process known as aradicular. Unlike humans whose ameloblasts
die after tooth development, rodents continually produce
enamel and must wear down their teeth by gnawing on various
materials.[6] These teeth are used for cutting wood, biting
through the skin of fruit, or for defense. The teeth have enamel
on the outside and exposed dentin on the inside, so they selfsharpen during gnawing. On the other hand, continually growing
molars are found in some rodent species, such as the sibling
vole and the guinea pig.[7] [8] There is variation in the dentition of
the rodents, but generally, rodents lack canines and premolars,
and have a space between their incisors and molars, called the
diastema region.
Horse
Horse teeth can be used to estimate the animal's age. At five
years of age a horse has between 36 and 44 teeth. By age five,
all permanent teeth have usually erupted. The horse is then said

to have a "full" mouth. All horses have twelve premolars, twelve

molars, and twelve incisors. After eight years, the age of a horse
can only be conjectured. Dishonest dealers sometimes "bishop"
the teeth of old horses, that is scoop them out, to imitate the
mark: but this can be known by the absence of the white edge
of enamel which always surrounds the real mark, by the shape
of the teeth, and other marks of age about the animal. The wear
of teeth may also be affected by diet, natural abnormalities, and
cribbing.
Some horses have a form of premolars called wolf teeth. Wolf
teeth are small peg-like teeth in horses and other equidae, and
they do not have any precursors. They may be knocked out by
the bit if particularly loose and can certainly be extracted
accidentally, either partially or whole, when routine equine
dentistry is performed. In size they are extremely variable from
being only 3 mm in diameter to having roots up to 2 cm long. In
a small number of cases they may be "molarized" with a distinct
irregular rim of enamel. It is impossible to gauge the size of the
root from an examination of the crown except to say that if the
crown is mobile it is very unlikely that there is a large intact root.
Also, a horse may have 4 or 5 canine teeth between the molars
and incisors. Generally all male horses have four canines.
However, few female horses have canines. A horse's incisors,
premolars, and molars continuously grow throughout the
animal's life, to provide new material as the grinding surface is
worn down from eating. A young adult will have teeth which are
4.5-5 inches long. The enamel and dentin layers are intertwined
with each other.[9] Problems that can develop in horse teeth
include hooks, step mouth, wave mouth, and shear mouth.

there are three main types of teeth in humans

the teeth at the front are called incisors they

are used for biting and cutting food the teeth

next to the incisors are called canines these
teeth are for gripping and tearing food molars
are found at the back of the mouth they are for
crushing and grinding food

there are three main types of

teeth in humans the teeth at
the front are called incisors they
are used for biting and cutting
food the teeth next to the
incisors are called canines these
teeth are for gripping and
tearing food molars are found at
the back of the mouth they are
for crushing and grinding food
carnivores have big long
canines which are sharp and
pointed to help them kill and
eat other animals herbivores
dont have canines because

they only eat plants instead

they have sharp flat incisors
which are really good for biting
and chopping grass and leaves