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Woolly mammoth dentition fun facts!


Dracarys

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Was looking over my right lower mandible of a woolly mammoth jaw and noticed two sets of teeth. Most of the times, there were only four functional molar teeth at a time, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. Did some research and discovered woolly mammoth teeth are much different than ours. When we lose our baby teeth, adult teeth come in at the same spot. This is not true for mammoths. Once a tooth is worn down from too much grinding, a new tooth grows behind it. The new tooth slowly moves forward and pushes the old one out. This leaves a fresh set of ridges for grinding food. They had six sets of molars throughout a lifetime. The replacement process continues on until the sixth tooth is in place. This happens when the mammoth is about 30 years old. The mammoth uses the sixth molar for the rest of its life. Once the sixth tooth is worn down, there are no more replacement teeth. Without teeth, the mammoth can no longer eat and soon starves. It is unique to find a jaw that has teeth in between two growth stages. Turns out that’s what I have! You can distinctly see a smaller second set in front of the larger one that is getting pushed forward. Wanted to share what I learned today.

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Interesting, thank you for the information, cool specimen!

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How would that look in practice? Would a mammoth just spit out the whole worn down molars? :headscratch:

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19 hours ago, Troodon said:

Like conveyor belt teeth.  Thanks for info.

Modern elephants have a similar dentition system.

They go through 6 sets of teeth over their life time with a new set replacing those as they wear out. 

 

When they have worn out their last set of teeth, they can't chew the branches and other food properly, lose condition and eventually die. 

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MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png MotM August 2023 - Eclectic Collector

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That is interesting. I learned something new today. Thanks for that! :) 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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21 hours ago, Abstraktum said:

How would that look in practice? Would a mammoth just spit out the whole worn down molars? :headscratch:

Not sure. I figured it was in pieces. Can you imagine a large 6-8 inch tooth getting spit out all at once? Ouch. Good question. 

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7 hours ago, Dracarys said:

Not sure. I figured it was in pieces. Can you imagine a large 6-8 inch tooth getting spit out all at once? Ouch. Good question. 

Mammoths indeed spit out whole teeth. @Harry Pristis explained this nicely in the forum gallery. I quote: 

 

"a combination of osteoclasts (cells that break down the root) and pressure from behind loosened the tooth to the point where it was "spit" out by the mammoth."

 

And here is the accompanying picture:gallery_42_6_40722.jpg.406b982902158da86cbee2b2bbebfe78.jpg

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1 hour ago, Huntonia said:

Mammoths indeed spit out whole teeth. @Harry Pristis explained this nicely in the forum gallery. I quote: 

 

"a combination of osteoclasts (cells that break down the root) and pressure from behind loosened the tooth to the point where it was "spit" out by the mammoth."

 

And here is the accompanying picture:gallery_42_6_40722.jpg.406b982902158da86cbee2b2bbebfe78.jpg

Excellent! The osteoclasts activity breaking down the root system sure helps for me understand how a large tooth can be "spit out". Thanks for comments! 

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