Dentition of carnivores

• what is an example of a carnivorous mammal?

  a dog
• what are the teeth of carnivorous mammals adapted for?

  they have teeth adapted for catching and killing prey, cutting or crushing bones and tearing meat
• what do the incisors of carnivorous mammals do?

  the sharp incisors grip and tear muscle from bone
• what are the canine teeth like in carnivorous mammals?

  they are large, curved and pointed
• what do the canine teeth in carnivorous mammals do?

  they are large, curved and pointed for piercing and seizing prey, for tearing muscle and killing
• what do the premolars and molars in carnivorous mammals do?

  they have cusps, which are sharp points that cut and crush
• what do premolars and molars in carnivorous mammals have?

  they have cusps, which are sharp points that cut and crush
• what are the specialised cheek teeth that carnivores have?

  carnassials
• what do the carnassials in carnivores do?

  they are specialised cheek cells on each side, which slide past each other like scissor blades - these shear the muscle off the bone - they are large and easily identifiable
• how does the jaw in carnivores move?

  • the lower jaw moves vertically, not side-to-side as in herbivores
  • carnivores open their jaw very wide when they deal with prey and side-to-side movement could dislocate their jaw
• what are the jaw muscles in carnivores like?

  • the jaw muscles are well-developed and powerful, enabling the carnivores to grip the prey firmly and crush bone
  • there are protrusions on the skull, where these muscles insert into the bone
• what is the definition of diastema?

  the gap in the lower jaw of herbivores between the canines and premolars, through which cheeks contribute to mechanical digestion
• what is the definition of carnassials?

  the last upper premolar and first lower molar teeth on each side of the mouth of a carnivore, which have a shearing action as the premolar slices over the molar when the jaws close