Oral Cavity Adaptations

herbivore diet

plants

describe herbivore dentition

dental pad instead of upper incisors

grasp plants with tongue and pinch it off with lower incisors against dental pad

no canine teeth

thoroughly grind food and mix it with lots of saliva

continually growing molars that are worn down by silica in the plant material they eat

herbivore dentition diagram

what do herbivores have instead of upper incisors?

a dental pad

differences between carnivore and herbivore dentition

carnivores - have canines, no dental pad, carnassial teeth

herbivores - no canines, dental pad, no carnassial teeth

describe carnivore dentition

canines - to rip meat

carnassial teeth - paired modified molars to shear meat

do not have the ability to digest cellulose as they lack the enzyme cellulase

difference between shearing and tearing meat

shearing is more efficient

why can’t carnivores digest cellulose?

they lack the enzyme cellulase

carnivore diet

meat

carnivore dentition diagram

what are bird beaks made up of?

keratin, bone and blood vessels

describe oral cavity of birds

beak that grows continually and is worn down by grooming, feeding, rubbing and climbing

beak shape adapted to the type of food the bird eats e.g. pelican has a large lower beak for scooping fish

no teeth in mouth as they do not chew food

bird oral cavity diagram

mastication

chewing food with teeth

types of teeth

incisors, canines, molars, pre-molars

incisor function

cutting

canine function

piercing

molar function

crushing and grinding

pre-molars function

cutting and crushing

main sections of a tooth

  crown, neck, root

further sections of a tooth

enamel, dentine, pulp, gum (gingiva), bone, periodontal membrane, cementum, root canal, opening at tip of root

tooth diagram

dental formulae

a way of writing how many different types of teeth an animal has

bird diet range

fruits, plants, seeds, carrion, nectar, invertebrates, vertebrates (i.e. small mammals and birds)

examples of different birds and how their beak is adapted to eat

woodpecker - long, chisel-shape beak for drilling into wood to find insects

hawks - shark, hooked beak for tearing meat from prey

hummingbirds - long, thin beak for reaching deep into flowers to drink nectar

describe a type of foraging mode in ducks

dabbling

filter feed using specialised structures in their bills called lamellae

lamellae

fine comb-like structures found in rows along the inside of the bill

lamellae function

Filter out inedible material for birds, while trapping invertebrates, seeds or grazing on aquatic plants

how many lamellae on dabbling ducks lower and upper bills?

50-70