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The plicae fimbriatae move freely over a limited range. The plica sublingualis, which is found in all primates, but is particularly small in lemuriforms, attaches the tongue and sublingua to the floor of the mouth. Tarsiers have a large but highly generalized sublingua, but their closest living relatives, monkeys and apes, lack one.
However, sharks continuously produce new teeth throughout their lives [3] [4] [5] via a drastically different mechanism. Shark teeth form from modified scales near the tongue and move outward on the jaw in rows until they are eventually dislodged. [6] Their scales, called dermal denticles, and teeth are homologous organs. [7]
Horse teeth can be used to estimate the animal's age. Between birth and five years, age can be closely estimated by observing the eruption pattern on milk teeth and then permanent teeth. By age five, all permanent teeth have usually erupted. The horse is then said to have a "full" mouth.
A dog's tongue also acts as a heat regulator. As a dog increases its exercise the tongue will increase in size due to greater blood flow. The tongue hangs out of the dog's mouth and the moisture on the tongue will work to cool the bloodflow. [23] [24] Some animals have tongues that are specially adapted for catching prey.
The dentition of animals with two successions of teeth (deciduous, permanent) is referred to as diphyodont, while the dentition of animals with only one set of teeth throughout life is monophyodont. The dentition of animals in which the teeth are continuously discarded and replaced throughout life is termed polyphyodont . [ 2 ]
Most fish species with pharyngeal teeth do not have extendable pharyngeal jaws. A particularly notable exception is the highly mobile pharyngeal jaw of the moray eels.These are possibly a response to their inability to swallow as other fishes do by creating a negative pressure in the mouth, perhaps induced by their restricted environmental niche (burrows) or in the air in the intertidal zone. [10]
The toothcomb of most lemuriforms includes six finely spaced teeth, four incisors and two canine teeth that are procumbent (tilt forward) in the front of the mouth. [4] [15] The procumbent lower canine teeth are the same shape as the incisors located between them, [15] but they are more robust and curve upward and inward, more so than the incisors. [13]
The mouth is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or cavum oris in Latin ), [ 2 ] is also the first part of the alimentary canal , which leads to the pharynx and the gullet .