Top 5 animals with the biggest teeth. Who lost to the huge elephant with tusks 2.5 meters long? (11 photos)

Teeth for animals are not only part of the digestive system, but also a real hunting weapon, since they serve to capture and hold prey, and then to grind food. If an animal loses teeth, it will simply die of starvation, so not only the quality of teeth is important, but also their quantity. So, who is the most toothy on the planet?





5th place

The first one we meet in this top is the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). The length of the tooth of the 20-meter giant is 27 cm, and its weight is 1 kg. To put it simply, one tooth = one and a half palms! They grow only on the lower jaw and there can be up to 30 pairs in total!



Since ancient times, sperm whale teeth have been valued as powerful magical amulets and material for making jewelry and interior items. The carving of sperm whale teeth was usually done by the same people who caught them.

Unlike the next participants in the top, all the teeth of the sperm whale have the same shape and size. Whales do not have the usual division into fangs, incisors, molars and premolars. It is not known exactly why such a structure is needed. Moreover, it is not clear why such giant teeth are needed in principle. They don’t help much in hunting: scientists have found well-fed, but toothless sperm whales. It is assumed that the teeth help the animal record ultrasound.





This is what the teeth look like in the mouth. A terrible sight if you get close.

4th place

In fourth place, Madame Babyrousa babyrussa welcomes you. This Indonesian pig Peppa wiped the nose of the sperm whale itself and grew fangs 30 cm long. Moreover, all 4 fangs are long at the heel - both upper and lower.



This is what happens when you are afraid to go to the dentist for a long time.

Why Babirussa needs such teeth is not known for certain. Hypothetically, the bone protection helps protect the pig's face and eyes from attack by predators and relatives. Which is ironic, because in some cases teeth become the cause of death of their owners. The fangs grow so large that they pierce the skull and dig into the brain. Local peoples have their own hypothesis about why pigs have such fangs. The people of Sulawesi and Buru believe that the babirussa, clinging to tree branches with its tusks, sleeps in limbo.



Yes, you saw everything correctly. The upper fangs of the babirussa grow directly from the nose.

3rd place

This top wouldn't be complete without the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) in it. The fat man rightfully receives his bronze, because the length of his teeth is almost a meter and his weight is 5.4 kg. The social position of a walrus in a group directly depends on the size of its tusks. The larger and thicker they are, the more attractive the male is to the opposite sex. This is how guys sort things out without fights and blood. It is enough to show your size to understand who is who.



When size matters.

The females also found the tusks very useful. Walrus translated from ancient Greek means “walking on teeth.” And pinnipeds can really be seen with their unusual “gait”. With the help of their teeth, animals of both sexes break through ice holes and cling to steep ice floes in order to climb onto them.



The revived potatoes are trying to get out of the cellar. Photo in color.

2nd place

In second place is the entire genus of African elephants (Loxodonta). The tusks of its representatives reach a length of 2.5 m, and the longest known tusk was as much as 4.1 m. Elephants' teeth grow throughout their lives. Over the course of a year, a tusk grows by about 17 cm, so the longer it is, the older the elephant.



I wonder how often an elephant touches its teeth with its feet?

The remaining teeth of elephants, although not so long, are massive - each of them weighs up to 5 kg. With age, teeth wear out and are replaced with a new set. An elephant changes its molars three times in just its life. And then he will die from the inability to eat. Most often, old animals die not from disease or predators, but from hunger. They simply have nothing to chew! Therefore, older animals go to swamps and swamps, to places where they can find soft food.yu mushy vegetation.



Tusks help elephants not only fight for females, but also cut down trees in order to feast on the most juicy and tender foliage.

1 place

So, the undisputed champion of the tooth top is the narwhal, or sea unicorn (Monodon monoceros)! On average, a narwhal tusk grows up to 3 meters in length. The giant “horn” is the left fang, which has grown to incredible sizes. Sometimes it happens that both teeth grow, in which case the animal swims with two spears on its nose!



Gentlemen, swords to battle!

A narwhal tusk is a unique thing by its nature. For a whale (yes, a narwhal is a whale), it serves many functions at once. This is a tournament sword in a competition for the fin and heart of a loved one, and a hunting spear, and the subtlest indicator of environmental change. The animal’s tusk is riddled with nerve endings, which is why the cetacean sensitively senses the temperature and composition of the water.