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Not all teeth are the same. Here are 3 ways animal teeth evolved to help them survive
Your teeth wouldn’t do much against a woolly mammoth.
But a saber-toothed cats’ teeth — those were perfectly evolved to take down such giant prey.
All animals’ teeth evolved to help them survive. Teeth can be used to intimidate, hunt and bite.
Saber-toothed Tigers
A saber-toothed Tiger skeleton (around 5 million years old) is displayed in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
An animal with teeth so impressive that its named for them, the saber-toothed tiger was one of many saber-toothed cats that roamed the earth before and during the Ice Age.
“Saber” is another word for a sword, and these cats’ teeth looked like daggers. They were so big they stuck out of the sides of their mouths.
According to researchers at Indiana University, saber-toothed tigers likely used their giant teeth to stab the soft neck and bellies of their prey. The cats are thought to have mostly hunted large, slow animals, like mammoths.
Whales
The baleen is visible as a North Atlantic right whale feeds on the surface of Cape Cod bay off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., March 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Some species of whales, included the Orca, have teeth they can use to grab onto things.
According to Britannica, these whales will use their teeth to grab or shake other whales in fights, but they don’t use them to chew. Orca Whales swallow their food — sometimes as big as a seal or sea lion — whole.
Other species of whales evolved not to have teeth at all, and instead have something called baleen where teeth would be.
Made of the same stuff as our fingernails and hair, baleen separates tasty prey like plankton and small fish from seawater, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation. This lets baleen whales, like the Blue Whale, eat by swimming into prey and simply opening their mouths.
Rattlesnakes
Sweetwater Jaycees member Blake Stephens holds a rattlesnake at the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Rattlesnakes, common in the southwestern U.S., use their poisonous fangs to catch their food.
According to Live Science, rattlesnakes quietly lie in wait until a small rodent or lizard comes along. Then they strike — moving at super fast speeds — biting and paralyzing their prey with venom.
Rattlesnakes don’t use their fangs to chew. Instead, they swallow their prey whole.
Rattlesnakes are named for the “rattle” at the end of their tail, which makes a buzzing sound when the snake wants to warn off a predator. The sound helps people know where they are, too — and where not to step!
Comments: molly.duffy@thegazette.com
A saber-toothed Tiger skeleton (around 5 million years old) is displayed in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
The baleen is visible as a North Atlantic right whale feeds on the surface of Cape Cod bay off the coast of Plymouth, Mass., March 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Sweetwater Jaycees member Blake Stephens holds a rattlesnake at the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Austin, Texas. The group was at the capitol to promote their annual rattlesnake round-up. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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