How were the specialized molars of the woolly mammoth structured for grinding tough vegetation?
Answer
Long plates stacked like a file or washboard
To efficiently process the tough, fibrous grasses, sedges, and shrubs that constituted their primary diet on the mammoth steppe, woolly mammoths developed highly specialized dental structures. Unlike typical mammalian teeth, their molars were not comprised of standard ridges but were instead structured as long plates stacked vertically, one on top of the other. This unique configuration created a highly effective grinding surface, functionally analogous to a file or a washboard, allowing the mammoth to continuously break down massive quantities of hard vegetation required to fuel its large body mass daily.
#Videos
Woolly Mammoth Facts! - Mr. DeMaio - YouTube
Related Questions
What was the maximum shoulder height an adult male woolly mammoth could reach?What was the maximum reported length of the long, coarse guard hairs on a woolly mammoth?How were the specialized molars of the woolly mammoth structured for grinding tough vegetation?Which exposed land bridge connected Eurasia and North America for woolly mammoths?What was an essential function of mammoth tusks for accessing food during winter months?Until approximately how long ago did the final isolated woolly mammoth population on Wrangel Island persist?Which modern elephant species is genetically the woolly mammoth's closest living relative?What type of environment did woolly mammoths primarily prefer over dense forests or arctic tundra?Which specific gene-editing tool is being used in current research to modify the Asian elephant genome for de-extinction efforts?Compared to a modern African bush elephant bull (averaging 6 tons), what was noted about the woolly mammoth's size advantage?