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Is there an example of an animal you have that supports the assertion that it is hunting habit that determine the style of teeth and not diet? I'm curious beca
by run4yourlives 16y ago
Is there an example of an animal you have that supports the assertion that it is hunting habit that determine the style of teeth and not diet?
I'm curious because I always thought diet was the driver in mouth design, while hunting was more a factor in eye placement.
- shasta 16y agoMost teeth are for chewing or incising food, and thus I'd expect most teeth styles to be designed for diet. Canines aren't used for eating - they're used for killing. So I'd be surprised to learn that they evolved for diet only. I'm too lazy to do the research, but I'd be happy to be learn I'm wrong. A quick search turned up a somewhat relevant article about large canines in primates (not carnivorous): http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080626145058.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080626145058.ht... It discusses whether they evolved the large canines for fighting or to impress females, but either way it wasn't related to diet.
- run4yourlives 16y agoActually, if you read further into the article it seems to suggest that, yes, in fact there was a time when hominids had large canines, and we evolved into our current tooth structure. Interesting link.