Monday, May 24, 2010

How many front teeths do rabbits have?


Answers:
Sarah and Chetco are correct - rabbits do NOT have two upper and two lower front teeth like rodents do! Rabbits are NOT rodents, they are lagomorphs, and as lagomorphs, they do have four upper front teeth. Here's two fantastic photos, comparing rabbits' teeth with rodents' teeth - the photo on the left is a rabbit's skull - see their four upper front teeth? And the photo on the right is a rodent's skull - see how they only have two upper front teeth?
http://biology.nebrwesleyan.edu/courses/.
For more info on lagomorphs -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lagomorph.
two rite in the center.
4 fronth teeth - two on top and two on the bottom
2 top 2 bottom
Contrary to popular belief, rabbits have SIX front teeth, not four. They're not rodents.

"Rabbits have six incisors, or front teeth, four on the top and two on the bottom. The second set of upper incisors, called peg teeth, are hidden right behind the set that you can see easily when you look in the mouth. These teeth are used primarily for grabbing food and cutting it. (They are also very good for nipping through extension and phone cords!)"
two-top, n two-bottom
4
2 on the top and 2 on the bottom
Rabbits have a rather unusual dental formula.
The top jaw has four incisors, with two large ones in the center, and two smaller ones behind them (the "peg teeth"). The lower jaw has only two incisors.

The upper jaw has three premolars and three molars on each side, and the lower has two premolars and three molars on each side. There are no canine teeth. So count 'em up and you have a grand total of 28 teeth!

The permanent (adult) teeth grow continuously as they are worn down by chewing, but they are not constantly shed.

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