Tusk of an African bush elephant The tusks grow from deciduous teeth known as tushes that develop in the upper jaw and consist of a crown, root and pulpal cavity, which are completely formed soon after birth. Tushes reach a length of . The tusks erupt when elephants are 1–3 years old and grow throughout life. They are composed of dentin and coated with a thin layer of cementum.
|
|
Restoration of L. gaudryi In Leontinia, the first incisors of the upper jaw are small cropping teeth, while the second are elongated and form caniniform tushes. In the lower jaw it is the third incisors have developed into tushes, not the second. Variations and incisor length have been used to distinguish different species from one another and may possibly provide evidence of sexual dimorphism among certain species. In fact, it has been suggested that different species assigned on the basis of tooth proportion may only represent different genders of the same species.
|
|
An adult horse has between 36 and 44 teeth. The enamel and dentin layers of horse teeth are intertwined. All horses have 12 premolars, 12 molars, and 12 incisors. Generally, all male equines also have four canine teeth (called tushes) between the molars and incisors.
|
|
Equines are adapted for running and traveling over long distances. Their dentition is adapted for grazing; they have large incisors that clip grass blades and highly crowned, ridged molars well suited for grinding. Males have spade-shaped canines ("tushes"), which can be used as weapons in fighting. Equines have fairly good senses, particularly their eyesight.
|
|
Horses are adapted to grazing. In an adult horse, there are 12 incisors at the front of the mouth, adapted to biting off the grass or other vegetation. There are 24 teeth adapted for chewing, the premolars and molars, at the back of the mouth. Stallions and geldings have four additional teeth just behind the incisors, a type of canine teeth called "tushes".
|
|
An adult horse has between 36 and 44 teeth. All horses have twelve premolars, twelve molars, and twelve incisors. Generally, all male equines also have four canine teeth (called tushes) between the molars and incisors. However, few female horses (less than 28%) have canines, and those that do usually have only one or two, which many times are only partially erupted.
|
|
The African forest elephant's tusks are straight and point downwards. Both male and female African elephants have tusks that grow from deciduous teeth called tushes, which are replaced by tusks when calves are about one year old. Tusks are composed of dentin, which forms small diamond-shaped structures in the tusk's center that become larger at its periphery. A conical layer on their tips consisting of tooth enamel is usually worn off when the elephant is five years old.
|
|
Both male and female African elephants have tusks that grow from deciduous teeth called tushes, which are replaced by tusks when calves are about one year old. Tusks are composed of dentin, which forms small diamond-shaped structures in the tusk's center that become larger at its periphery. Tusks are used for digging for roots and stripping the bark from trees for food, for fighting each other during mating season, and for defending themselves against predators. The tusks weigh from and can be from long.
|
|
Behind the interdental space, all horses also have twelve premolars and twelve molars, also known as cheek teeth or jaw teeth. These teeth chew food bitten off by incisors, prior to swallowing. In addition to the incisors, premolars and molars, some, but not all, horses may also have canine teeth and wolf teeth. A horse can have between zero and four canine teeth, also known as tusks (tushes for the deciduous precursor), with a clear prevalence towards male horses (stallions and geldings) who normally have a full set of four.
|
|
Tusker debarking a tree Tusks serve to dig for water, salt, and rocks, to debark and uproot trees, as levers for maneuvering fallen trees and branches, for work, for display, for marking trees, as weapon for offence and defence, as trunk-rests, and as protection for the trunk. Elephants are known to be right or left tusked. Female Asian elephants usually lack tusks; if tusks—in that case called "tushes"—are present, they are barely visible, and only seen when the mouth is open. The enamel plates of the molars are greater in number and closer together in Asian elephants.
|
|