How does the specialized dentition of Wombats counteract wear from their diet?
Answer
The teeth, including incisors and molars, lack roots and grow continuously
Wombats consume abrasive materials such as tough grasses, bark, and roots as part of their herbivorous grazing diet. To counteract the severe abrasive wear these fibrous materials cause on their chewing surfaces, their dentition shares a rodent-like characteristic: the teeth are rootless and constantly erupt from the jaw, ensuring that as the chewing surface wears down, new material pushes forward to maintain functional bite effectiveness.
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