Reptile teeth have long been considered simple and cheap because the animals replace them regularly. That isn't so, Komodo dragons show
Reptile teeth have long been considered simple and cheap because the animals replace them regularly. That isn't so, Komodo dragons showJürgen & Christine Sohns/ imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG / Alamy Stock Phototeeth ends well. The massive lizard’s mouth holds 60 serrated teeth, each up to an inch long, that get replenished throughout the creature’s life. And dangling from the serrations are the remains of previous meals, plus dozens of bacteria that feast on them.
Reptilian teeth have long been considered simple and cheap because they grow quickly and get replaced several times throughout their owner’s life. Research like that in the new paper is changing that perception, however. “We’re basically just starting to scratch the surface into how complex reptile teeth can actually be,” says Kirstin Brink, a paleontologist at the University of Manitoba, who studies teeth but was not involved in the new study.
LeBlanc was drawn to the giant lizards’ teeth because of their pointed, curved profile, which would look at home in the smiles of even more fearsome animals:. Such comparisons are a valuable approach for paleontologists, Brink notes. “When we’re studying fossils, especially when we’re trying to interpret behaviors which we can no longer observe because the animals are dead, we have to look to modern analogues,” she says.
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