Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth, scientists find | Reptiles | The Guardian
(amp.theguardian.com)
from Mothra@mander.xyz to science@mander.xyz on 25 Jul 2024 13:46
https://mander.xyz/post/15848979
from Mothra@mander.xyz to science@mander.xyz on 25 Jul 2024 13:46
https://mander.xyz/post/15848979
Pretty interesting find. (Not completely sure if this is the right community for this- let me know if you know where else it would be a good fit!)
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there’s some snail that has an iron sulfide shell
They aren’t the only ones. Beavers do too! So does the Giant Pacific chiton (world’s largest chiton, a type of mollusk).
Pretty useful for animals that have to scrape food off rocks or continually gnaw through something.
I guess Komodo dragons need those teeth to last, whereas sharks are just like “I got a million of these things.”
Beavers keep growing their yeeth indefinitely too due to being rodents, but the iron buildup probably helps the teeth wear a bit slower.
The iron content in beaver teeth is concentrated at the front surface so that they are self-sharpening as they wear down.
I didn’t know that either about beavers. Or chitons. But I already knew about mollusks doing crazy things with iron, like that armor plated snail.
I’m surprised Komodo dragons need their teeth to last, reptiles afaik replace their teeth indefinitely
I just looked it up and apparently the iron is just to enhance the cutting surface. They do have teeth that replaced themselves indefinitely as well.
With beavers, the enamel is iron enhanced so it’s stronger than the dentine behind. They wear unevenly, the back wearing down more easily than the front, which keeps the teeth sharp. They’re incisors continue to grow indefinitely, but they don’t get replacements if they lose one.
And bloodworms have copper teeth! I guess they get it from the sediments they live in. That blew my mind, so finding this out about reptiles is so wild.
That’s metal <img alt="kelly" src="https://www.hexbear.net/pictrs/image/4130400e-bfdb-4b39-bee4-739802528a0f.png">
the article doesn’t mention how corrosion is prevented, since iron loves to rust, also doesn’t link to a paper which could contain that information
The coating being orange indicates it is reacting with oxygen, aka rusting.
They aren’t shiny silver plated teeth.
rust of soft tho, it doesn’t like to bond with each other
Had to look this up yesterday as I had thought the same. In rodents anyway, the orange color is from amino acids, not the iron in their teeth.
Where did you find a source that it was from amino acids?
This one says the orange is from the iron
Wikipedia’s citationed summary confirms it is orange due to the the iron
I thought about the rust too. Wouldn’t that mean their bite could give you tetanus on top of the hellish bacterial cocktail they have in their saliva?
Evolution really fucked up when it came to our teeth, huh?
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It’s The Guardian. Take it with a pinch of salt. Sorry, I should have linked the original papers.
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