Which animals have fangs

Narwhals seem to have tricked people into thinking their spears are a kind of mystical horn, granting them their reputation as unicorns of the seas.

Oh, and the final frightening thought? Their gargantuan bottom teeth are around 16 inches in length. Deer, sheep and cattle which all chew cud, usually only have two on the bottom jaw.

A few species that display this trait are pigs, boar, musk-deer, seals, walruses and some species of apes such as the baboon and gorilla. Showing these larger canines helps a male to threaten rivals and predators.

There are many other strange examples of canine teeth in animals. The babirusa has four canine teeth that grow upward and curl back toward the head. They are used for fighting other males. As you can see from the skull of a sabre tooth tiger, their upper canine teeth grew into two large fangs. Their lower canines sat closer to the front of the jaw and were just slightly larger than the incisors.

Imagine the frightening sight of a deer with fangs. That is exactly what you will see in a male musk deer during mating season! These unusual deer do not grow antlers and use fangs instead while battling other males.

Just as other deer regrow their antlers every year, musk deer lose and regrow their fangs every year. Although the males have these long fangs, musk deer are herbivores and only use the fangs for fighting.

Unicorn horns are actually canine teeth which come from the sea creature called a narwhal. Although the narwhal has no other teeth, it does have two canine teeth sockets. Usually, only one tooth grows, and it forms the swordlike horn which extends through its upper lip.

The horn forms in a spiral and can grow to over eight feet long! About one in males will develop two tusks, and sometimes the second tusk grows to the same length as the first.

Walruses and some pigs also feature incisors that have evolved into tusks used for foraging, defense, and intra-species combat. Omnivores, such as raccoons, opossums, bears, and humans, are animals that consume both plant and animal material. Accordingly, omnivores have dentition, skulls, and teeth suitable for handling a variety of foods.

Most omnivores have evolved different types of teeth, located in different parts of their mouths. In such scenarios, each type of tooth excels at handling a different type of food. For example, humans use their incisors and canines for ripping and cutting, and their molars and premolars for grinding.

Biologists describe animals with such teeth as having heterodont dentition. By contrast, the teeth of homodont animals, such as iguanas, are all the same shape. As with some carnivores that have teeth to aid in prey capture, some omnivores have teeth that help them to obtain, rather than process, their food.

Humans are just one out of hundreds of animals that have teeth. Most that do, humans included, have highly specialized teeth used for specific jobs and consuming a particular diet.

Flat, sharp teeth, like those in the front of your mouth, are used for peeling and cutting foods, then shoveling them backward to be consumed. Pointed teeth, like the canines in predatory animals, are used for hunting, grasping, and tearing food. These have very long roots in the jaw for improved sturdiness. Finally, large, flat-surfaced teeth, like the molars and premolars towards the back of your mouth, are used to grind food into smaller pieces.