blunt-science: A baby Aardvark and the strange teeth of their order “Tubulidentata”. Aar
blunt-science: A baby Aardvark and the strange teeth of their order “Tubulidentata”. Aardvarks are the sole living member of their mammalian order which includes another 15 or so creatures. They evolved shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs and are evidently named for their strange tube like teeth.Each tooth is made of thin, hexagonal, parallel tubes that have their own pulp canals. The teeth have no enamel coating and they grow constantly throughout their lives, being worn down by usage. They also only have teeth at the back of their jaws, which are molars. Oddly, baby Aardvarks grow regular mammalian Incisors and Canines at the front of the jaw that fall out during adolescence and never grow back.The name Aardvark means “Earth Pig” in Afrikaans and they are commonly thought to be Anteaters due to their similar appearance and the fact that they can consume up to 50,000 ants a day. But in reality, they aren’t closely related to Anteaters at all, but share a close lineage with Elephants.Aardvarks almost exclusively eat ants and termites, but they also eat a fruit that they share a symbiotic relationship with, known as the Aardvark Cucumber. The animal defecates the seeds near their burrows into the loose, rich soil allowing the seeds to grow much faster compared with normal soil. Also, the specific environment within the intestines of the animal increases the fertility, and thus the probability of the survival of the seeds. -- source link