ANTH 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Tapetum Lucidum, Grooming Claw, Sifaka
26 Mar 2020
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Document Summary
Teeth specialized to the food consumed by the creature. Carnivores: high pointed cusps for tearing meat. Elephants: broad flat surfaces on cheek tooth for chewing tough grasses. Primates: low rounded cusps, generalized detention that allows them to process most types of food. Teeth in the upper and lower jaw. Bilaterally symmetric (same teeth on both sides) Different types of teeth with different functions (incisors, canines, premolars and molars) Anterior teeth involved with ingestion (bringing food into the mouth) Canines tear food, also behavioral functions (threat displays) Posterior teeth are used for chewing food. Insectivory - eat insects, sharp crests for puncturing the outer skeletons of insects. Frugivory - leaf eating, low cusps for crushing soft fruits. Folivory - fruit eating, well developed thought leafy material into small pieces. Sense of smell is well developed (retain the rhinarium) They have a grooming claw, a modified nail on second toe used for social functions.
