Animals Without Teeth! Toothless Animals Facts
Teeth are an integral part of daily life for animals and humans. In addition to their primary purpose, chewing, teeth also play other functions in the animal’s life. Young animals are being carried, for defense reasons, killing prey, scaring predators, and many more. However, what a lot of people would like to know is do animals that don’t have teeth exist? Absolutely. Today, we’re going to discuss nine animals without teeth.
If you’d like to find out more about these toothless creatures stay with us because we’ll discover their unique methods of hunting and eating.
Animals Without Teeth:
Giant Anteaters:
The giant anteaters are insectivores that reside in the rainforests and grasslands of Central and South America. They are sometimes referred to as the ant bears.
Because of their diet, they do not have teeth and rely on their large tongues for eating. Anteaters that are huge eat 35,000 termites and ants on an everyday basis.
Did you know: During feeding enormous giant anteaters, they have their tongues wiggle more than 150 times every minute!
Giant anteaters suffer from poor eyesight but the scent sense is the one they rely on to search for their next food source. They would use their sharp claws to create an anthill hole and then utilize their long, sticky tongues to gather insects.
However, they would take a stand and sting the tongues of the animal, which is why Anteaters rarely spend time the entire time eating for more than a couple of minutes. It is the first on our list of animals without teeth.
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Turtles:
Turtles are a long-standing reptile species, easily recognized by the bony shells they have. They can be found in a wide variety of environments. However, most of them live in Asia in both North America.
They’re all omnivorous creatures, which means they eat animal and plant materials.
Do You Know that the fastest species of turtle on land can attain speeds of up to 3 MPH!
They are also reptiles that have no teeth and use their strong beaks for chewing and tearing up food before swallowing.
It is important to note that turtles hatch with just one tooth, known for its egg tooth. This particular tooth assists the baby hatchlings in breaking into eggshells.
But, after a few months after hatching the tooth is likely to disappear and the newly-born turtle will live without teeth.
Pangolins:
Pangolins, also called scaly anteaters, are night-time creatures that reside in hollow trees and burrows.
Most of their diet is comprised of termites and ants as well as their advanced smell sense to find food.
Have You Heard? Pangolins are among the most sought-after animals in the world!
Since they don’t have teeth, pangolins cannot chew. They instead swallow small stones that aid in breaking down their food. This area of their stomachs is referred to as the stomach.
Pangolins eat their meals using their long tongues. They (depending upon the kind of animal) may be as long as the length of their bodies. Pangolins are known to consume as much as 0 to 5 pounds of insects per day.
Baleen Whales:
Baleen whales are an extremely widespread whale species that live in the colder waters of the Antarctic as well as the Arctic.
These marine mammals eat small fish and zooplankton. During the season of feeding (six months) baleen whales consume up to 4 percent of their body weight daily.
Did you know: Although they are within the waters, baleen Whales are unable to breathe underwater. They make use of their lungs to breathe!
Baleen whales employ a specific method of hunting called filter feeding.
They’ll then swim towards the prey, with their huge mouths open, and consume a variety of tiny pieces of prey all at once. Following that, they sort the food by using their plates for feeding, also called baleen.
Although they do not have teeth, they do use specially designed baleen plates to meet their dental requirements.
Spiders:
Spiders are terrifying eight-legged creatures that are found in nearly all habitats on earth except for the polar regions.
They mostly feed on insects. However, larger spiders could devour snails, vertebrates, birds as well as bats.
Have You known that spiders are hearing-less creatures and utilize their leg hairs to serve as sound-receptors!
Spiders don’t have teeth yet, however, they do have two fangs that they used to carry out their distinctive hunting techniques.
In the course of hunting, these animals will entrap their prey by injecting the poison. When the victim is still the spiders release digestive enzymes in the food to break down the body tissues of the animal.
The spiders typically leave the animal’s exoskeleton in place while sucking up “juice” as well as blood.
Octopus:
Octopuses are aquatic animals with eight legs that live in different regions and depths of the oceans.
The majority of species of octopus are predators and typically hunt for crabs, lobsters, clams, sea stars, and smaller fish, besides other marine creatures.
Do You Know? Octopuses possess the same number of brains as humans and have three hearts!
In hunting the octopus makes use of its strong limbs to catch prey, injecting the poison to disable the animal. After killing or immobilizing its prey, it utilizes its powerful (bird-like) jaws and teeth to break away the carcass.
Worms:
Worms are extremely silent creatures that live in both freshwater and subterranean habitats. There are over 2500 different species of worms, and aside from teeth, they do not have legs, arms, and eyes.
Do You Know that Worms possess the capability of regenerating different body components!
Worms eat organic matter which includes vegetables, fruits protozoans, fungi, protozoans bacteria, and more.
Although they don’t contain teeth, the worms do have strong mouths and make use of the Pharynx (throats) to digest food prior to entering the gizzard to begin ultimate digestion.
Tamanduas:
Tamanduas make up the genus anteater, which is found in the grasslands and forests in Central as well as South America. They are semi-arboreal mammals and have evolved prehensile tails to help be able to grasp and hold objects.
Did you know: that Tamanduas possess one of the lowest temperature bodies (90 degrees Fahrenheit) of all mammals on land!
For the most part, termites, ants, and other small insects make up the bulk of their food intake.
Tamanduas is an animal without teeth like pangolins and depend on the gizzards of their stomachs to process food.
Tamanduas make use of their strong legs to dig up nests of insects and then use their 16-inch sticky tongues to drink prey. They can consume up to 9,000 insects.
Birds:
When we speak of animals that don’t have teeth, it is important to not overlook birds. While they belong to the animal class instead of a single animal species, birds are worth noting.
The majority of the birds are considered omnivores however, a number of species of birds can be considered carnivores. Few are strictly herbivores. But, regardless of the classification of diet, every bird on earth has teeth.
Do You Know: A few bird species are the sole creatures that can be able to fly as well as swim!
With no teeth, birds swallow their food in a single swallow and depend on their stomach to digest their food. Some species swallow stones in order to aid digestion. It is the last one on our list of animals without teeth.
