At its core, a tooth is a bone formation located in the oral cavity of animals and humans. But some species of fish have teeth in the larynx. Teeth have different purposes. They help animals obtain and chew food, hunt, defend themselves from enemies and defend themselves.
In humans, in addition to chewing food, the teeth are still involved in the formation of speech, and also, which is important to carry out an aesthetic function. In a short review, consider the largest teeth in mammals, and begin with extinct dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs
Naturally, the large inhabitants of the Earth, extinct millions of years ago, had large sharp teeth. For carnivorous dinosaurs, they were intended for hunting and easily tearing prey, but for herbivorous giants, they were used to grind plants.
In different parts of the world, paleontologists have discovered the remains of dinosaur bones, including teeth. So, in 2002, a tooth of 9 centimeters in length was found in Korea, and in the American South Dakota, a dinosaur tooth was 33 centimeters in size.
Scientists have suggested that the owner of such fangs was an allosaurus, a relatively small size, but an aggressive predator that easily burst its victims.
Narwhal
An animal from the cetacean family, which lives in the cool waters of the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, has only two teeth. It is noteworthy that only the left tusk grows large, almost 3 meters long.
From a distance, a helical tooth resembles a horn, which is why this amazing and unique inhabitant of the ocean depths is the “Sea Unicorn”.
Scientists have not yet fully guessed the secret of this formation, and for what specifically it is used by marine animals.
Indian elephant
The jungle resident of the Indian elephant is also of impressive size.
These large, but graceful animals grow up to 3 and a half meters in height, and weigh up to 6 tons. Females are much smaller than males in size, which is reflected in the size of the teeth. In addition, these elephants have 4 molars, which are replaced with wear and tear, and it is interesting that the molars of the Indian elephant change six times throughout their lives.
Tusks develop in males and can grow up to 1.6 meters. It is worth noting that very rarely in females the length of each tusk grows more than 80 centimeters. In Asia, there are elephants that do not have tusks. They are called Makhna, and they live mainly in northeast India and Sri Lanka.
Walruses
The inhabitants of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have huge fangs, reaching a length of 1 meter. Walruses use fangs in battles for controlled territories as a means of threat, and they also easily break ice.
Fangs grow in both males and females. But in female walruses they are much smaller and walruses have fangs 60 centimeters long. This is because males use fangs to dominate the herd.
In addition, beautiful bone formations of walruses often become an object for poachers, which leads to a significant reduction in the population of amazing marine animals.
Musk deer
This graceful inhabitant of Eastern Siberia and Southeast Asia with its appearance is very similar to a deer. But here, what distinguishes him from deer, is the large fangs.
In some males they reach 9 centimeters, which they use in tournaments during the mating season. It is fangs that help dominate other individuals.
Fangs have another, no less important function, namely with their help the musk deer extracts food in hard-to-reach places, sometimes picking it out from under the thickness of snow.
Wild boars
Another owner of large fangs is wild boars. They use them to protect and obtain food, tearing roots out of the ground.
In the process of evolution, wild boars adapted to harsh living conditions, but over time, the size of the fangs decreased. But despite this circumstance, they remained a formidable weapon of the animal, bearing mortal danger to humans.
Large bill hooks with their fangs can cause lacerations. The terrible look of wild boars became the subject of frequent use of his image in heraldry in the Middle Ages, in the design of family and city emblems.
Person
In humans, teeth grow up to a centimeter long, and their number is from 28 to 32. It is difficult to find people with incredibly large teeth, but there are examples in history.
For example, the size of the teeth of the French actor Fernandel gave his smile an extraordinary charm and charm.
The Frenchman had natural teeth, but with the help of prosthetics you can significantly increase the size of the teeth, and most importantly improve their appearance. In this case, the example of Hollywood actors and actresses, who attach great importance to teeth, and often spend huge fortunes on dentists, is quite remarkable. The inserted teeth radically change the appearance, and make a smile for a million.
Julia Roberts
For many years, Julia was the highest paid actress of the Dream Factory, including thanks to her gorgeous smile with perfect teeth.
Tom Cruise
A frequent visitor to dentists and handsome Tom Cruise. It was these visits that allowed him to play charming heroes who are not shy of their teeth.
George Clooney
George Clooney achieved his cinematic success in many respects thanks to a magnificent smile with impeccable teeth.
Kate beckinsale
The British actress realized in time that a smile is the main weapon, and trips to the dentist made this weapon almost perfect, and shooting without misfires.
Hilary Duff
Like any American, from early childhood, Hilary carefully watched her teeth, but nevertheless, for the perfect image, she could not do without the surgical intervention of dentists.
Cheryl Cole
One of the most beautiful women on the planet, has not only a dazzling, but probably the most expensive smile. One can only guess after how many dentists intervene. It was possible to achieve such a condition of the teeth.
Pictured: Common Slug
So we found out which inhabitant of the planet Earth has the largest teeth, and how they use them. And in conclusion, we note that the largest number of teeth in ordinary slug. With the help of their thirty thousand teeth, they easily grind plant foods.
For people, the main thing is to watch your teeth, and as dentists advise, at least once every six months, carry out prophylaxis by contacting specialists. The main hygiene, and then the teeth will last a long time and will not bring health problems.
Article author: Valery Skiba