The evolution of teeth has always been an important basis for judging the evolution of animals. Experienced paleontologists and amateurs can tell by looking at the structure of their teeth whether a skeleton is a dinosaur or a lizard.
What the? Do they have different teeth lengths?
The earliest teeth were teeth that were born in jawless fish about 500 million years ago. These teeth, similar to your nails, are the product of epidermal keratinization and do not yet have the structure of teeth.
So when did you have teeth that look like teeth?
After academic research and discussion, the current consensus has been reached that more like our tooth ancestors, it should be the epidermal scales of primitive jawfish. The biggest feature of this tooth is that the shape is basically the same and there is no root, and it can regenerate after falling off like the scales.
Pretty familiar, right? That's what shark teeth are. It is precisely because some shark teeth and shield scales have a high degree of similarity that scientists have led scientists to verify the above conjecture.
This more primitive tooth structure is called Acrodont teeth.
In order for this rootless, unstable tooth to prey normally, the end teeth must be won in number, which means that the number of teeth in the long-toothed animals is often very large. But no matter how much you are afraid of falling off, so another mechanism can make up for this shortcoming: multiple dentition (humans are double dentition, because only change wisdom teeth once)
This ensures that the easily broken end teeth have a steady stream of reserve resources, as long as the old teeth are broken and fall off, the new teeth will automatically grow out and make up.
Common endodontic animals include fish , snakes , amphibians , and some lizards. These lizards include chameleons and flying lizards (such as king lizards, umbrella lizards, maned lion lizards, etc.).
Therefore, when artificially raised to check for oral diseases of these species, be careful. Because their translucent, small, fragile teeth will break with a little force, and improper handling will be left in the mouth to cause oral diseases.
This tooth structure is more like a road bully's hook, only responsible for catching the prey, as to whether the output is based on venom, strangulation or bite force, it depends on the skill of the species.
But this kind of teeth combined with hunting skills is indeed convenient for eating meat, but what if you eat vegetarian, snail or purely rely on teeth to fight and kill prey? Didn't you lose all your teeth when you tried hard?
Thus came the stronger tooth structure: Pleurodont teeth
Although the lateral teeth, like the terminal teeth, are attached to the surface of the jaw by a fibrous membrane, the lateral teeth are one step closer- the root of the tooth is fixed to the inside of the jawbone, which makes their roots more firm.
Left umbel lizard end teeth Right iguana side teeth
Animals with lateral teeth rely more on using their teeth to fix and grind food, such as iguanas that can grind plants, monitor lizards that rely on dumping, and guards that look inconspicuous but often hunt equal-headed wide prey.
Lateral teeth of Gaigoya
Because the use of these two types of teeth is relatively single, the shape of the teeth is also relatively uniform. This kind of teeth with a full mouth is a shape, also known as "homomorphic teeth", which means that the shape and size of the teeth are basically the same no matter where they are distributed in the mouth. This neat distribution obviously can not better use physics to carry out more violent hunting and finer chewing, so the tooth that can take into account the firmness of the teeth and make full use of the different distribution positions of the teeth to optimize the shape of the teeth was born: Thecodont teeth (Thecodont teeth)
Left: Grooved teeth Medium: Side teeth Right: End teeth
We humans are the best example: the root of the tooth embedded in the jawbone is the typical feature of the grooved teeth; you have the difference between the front teeth, the large teeth, and the tiger teeth, which is the special-shaped teeth in the grooved teeth. That is, all breastfish with teeth use slotted teeth.
In addition to mammals, are there any animals with slotted teeth? The most famous "player" who uses slotted teeth is the dinosaur; the one who doesn't play until halfway through is the bird; and the last one who has been playing until now is the crocodile.
That is, crocodiles are currently the only non-mammals with slotted tooth structures (if it were not for the defection of birds...). ）
As the main dragon-shaped class, the ancestors of crocodiles, dinosaurs, and birds had a higher demand for teeth. Vegetarian dinosaurs need teeth to grind plants, and carnivorous dinosaurs need to cut large pieces of meat with their teeth, and these needs are inseparable from strong grooved teeth.
Otherwise, the crocodile that will "die and roll" will become a "toothless person" when it is finished
Introduced so much, the return to the two climb enthusiasts themselves, why should we understand their tooth structure?
I believe that some friends with breeding experience have more or less heard of the power of stomatitis. And some stomatitis appears inexplicably. Is this disease really falling from the sky?
Yes, a large proportion of stomatitis is caused by infections caused by broken teeth remaining in the mouth and not being excreted in time. Many large lizard and snake breeders will certainly feel this way.
Why? In addition to a small number of individuals due to accidents or eating, more in the artificial environment of the tooth breaker, stomatitis caused by the cause, is that the environment is too small.
Too small an environment means poor abundance, and species that have not been domesticated for many generations and are not adapted to small spaces (such as large lizards, large pythons, and wild two-climbers, etc.) will constantly try to use their mouths to top the glass doors and try to escape to the outside world. This activity doesn't have to take place during the day, but it may also be at night when you can't see it.
Combined with the structure of the teeth described above, under such torture, broken teeth seem to be inevitable. This behavior itself belongs to the stereotyped behavior caused by environmental pressure, and in this state, the self-healing ability of animals will deteriorate. A small stomatitis may even trigger an intracranial infection, which can lead to death.
Two climbers can't talk
If you find your pet thinking about "jailbreaking" every day
This is already the last signal it can convey to you
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