|
Welcome to our Cat Forums! | ||||
Welcome to our CatForums! You are seeing this message because you are viewing our cat forums as a guest. You can continue to browse our many cat related areas as a guest but you are more than welcome to register and join our friendly community of Cat Lovers! ... And for free! Doing so will also remove this message and some of the ads, such as the one on the left. Please click here to register. |
|
|||||
|
|||||
Well, I think this is very interesting. Tusks are not included and the correct answer is 4 at any one time!! Elephant dentition is unique. In most animals including humans teeth are produced from the top and bottom of the mouth. In elephants the teeth are developed from the back and push forward. Elephant have six sets of molars in their lifetime and as a tooth wears out through relentless grinding another pushes forward to replace it. At birth have 4 small developing molars which they will lose at about 2 years old. Each successive set of teeth will last for a longer period of time until the final set appears at about 30 years. The worn down teeth wear off into a shelf which will eventually break off and fall out. Molar Number Appears Loss 1 birth 2 years 2 birth 6 years 3 1 year 13-15 years 4 6 years 28 years 5 18 years 43 years 6 30 years 65years On very rare occasions a 7th molar can appear. The loss of teeth is the leading cause of death among mature elephants. As the final molar begins to break down it becomes increasingly difficult to break down and digest food. Elephants in this predicament often die of starvation or malnutrition. |
|||||
|