For what purpose are the prominent tusks of *Odobenus rosmarus* not used according to functional descriptions?
Answer
Digging prey from the seabed
The tusks of the walrus, which are specialized elongated upper canine teeth, serve the vital function of providing traction and leverage necessary for the animal to pull its massive frame out of the water onto ice or land formations. However, the text explicitly states that these tusks are not utilized for the task of extracting food. Instead, the critical function of locating and dislodging prey from the soft sediment of the seafloor is accomplished using the walrus’s highly sensitive mystacial vibrissae, or whiskers.
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