Animal Adaptations

for

Getting and Chomping Food

by Moira Whitehouse PhD

The adaptations an animal acquires to help get and eat its food will depend on what the food is.

•Herbivores eat only plants, no meat. They don’t have to catch their food, only find it.

•Carnivores eat only meat, not plants. They have to find and catch their food, and sometimes the “food” fights back.

•Omnivores eat both meat and plants.

The adaptations an animal acquires to help get and eat his food will depend on what the food is.

•Herbivores eat only plants, no meat. They don’t have to catch their food, only find it.

•Carnivores eat only meat, not plants. They have to find and catch their food, and sometimes the “food” fights back.

•Omnivores eat both meat and plants.

First:

Some familiar animals that are herbivores:•horses

•goats

•cows

•deer

•rabbits

An obvious adaptation for grass and leaf eaters would involve their teeth.

Herbivores do not need to catch or kill their food since they usually eat grass and leaves. So their teeth are not designed to tear flesh apart, instead they are designed for cutting and grinding tough plant material such as grass, leaves and bark.

Herbivores like horses and cows have sharp straight-edged teeth called incisors at the front of their mouths that they use to cut or bite off the tough grasses they eat.

Wikipedia Commons

Herbivores also have flat teeth at the back of their skull called molars to grind tough plant material.

gibbon skull

zebra skullmolars

incisors

Herbivores typically have teeth similar to those shown in this zebra skull.

Rodents such as beavers, mice and rats are herbivores. They have incisor teeth used to gnaw. These teeth continue to grow throughout their lives as they wear down over time.

Tree gnawed by beaver

beaver

By Krrrista, http://www.flickr.com By Luca Trapolino, http://www.flickr.com

American beaver skull

rat skull

incisorsmolars

The elephant’s tusks are incisor teeth that have grown to be used for attack and defense. The elephant also uses them for rooting food from the ground and for breaking branches

http://www.huntingsociety.org/Elephantpics.html

goa-entranced http://www.flickr.com/

Turtles may be herbivores as well as carnivores. Here we see a herbivorous turtle eating a strawberry.

Turtles do not have teeth. Those that are herbivores have hard flat ridges on their jaws to cut and chew tough plants.

Orin Optiglot http://www.flickr.com/

down from their upper jaw. These plates act like a giant sieve filtering plankton (small plants and animals) out the water as it passes into the whale’s mouth.

picture courtesy Paul Ward - CoolAntarctica.com"

Baleen whales (such as right whales and blue whales) have hundreds of thin plates called baleen that hang

In the following video you will see a manta ray which also sieves little tiny microscopic plants and animals called plankton from the water.

http://www.arkive.org/manta-ray/manta-birostris/video-08c.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Manta ray feeding, whilst somersaulting" ><img src="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/A1/A1C26FDD-E993-4684-B73C-C1E75060C472/Presentation.Portlet/Manta-ray-feeding-whilst-somersaulting.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Manta ray feeding, whilst somersaulting" title="ARKive video - Manta ray feeding, whilst somersaulting" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of a Manta-ray feeding while doing somersaults. Then select full screen.

The adaptations an animal acquires to help get and eat his food will depend on what the food is.

•Herbivores eat only plants, no meat. They don’t have to catch their food, only find it.

•Carnivores eat only meat, not plants. They have to find and catch their food, and sometimes the “food” fights back.

•Omnivores eat both meat and plants.

Next:

Therefore, carnivores have sharp teeth or special jaws to:

•catch their prey

•prevent the prey from escaping once they catch it

•tear flesh apart after they catch the prey

•or do all three

used for capturing fish, squid, and other prey. They do not chew their food. They swallow it whole or in large chunks without chewing.

Photo courtesy of www.SeaWorldAdventurePark.info/free/

Toothed whales (such as dolphins, porpoises, and sperm whales) –have jaws lined with sharp teeth

Most sharks have several rows of sharp teeth that point backward which they use to grab and hold their prey. After seizing the prey

Shark photo courtesy of Fiona Ayerst on Flickr.com

they rip the body apart and swallow large chunks of meat. As a shark struggles with its victim, its teeth often fall out so it constantly needs new ones. Shark teeth are regularly replaced throughout its life.

PeterEdin http://www.flickr.com

Jeenofarc http://www.flickr.comScandblue http://www.flickr.com

Pictured here are the sharp jagged teeth that meat-eating sharks have for grabbing prey and ripping flesh.

Zebra bullheadPort Jackson shark

Zebra shark

Sharks that eat mollusks such as clams and oysters have flat teeth that they use to crush the hard shells of these animals.

The venom in the fangs of some snakes paralyze the prey so it can’t struggle. The snake then swallows its prey whole. The snake’s teeth slope backwards so that the animal cannot escape.

Dionnemuics on flickr.com

http://animals.howstuffworks

Another kind of snake called a constrictor does not have venom. A constrictor squeezes its prey until it stops breathing; then the snake swallows the prey whole.

Wikipedia commons

Reptiles like crocodiles and lizards use their sharp pointed teeth to capture and hold prey which they then tear apart or swallow whole. They do not chew with their teeth.

American crocodile skull Brazilian alligator

In the following video, you will see a baby Nile crocodile catching a frog and a grasshopper. Notice only its eyes are above water. Also, note its sharp teeth.

http://www.arkive.org/nile-crocodile/crocodylus-niloticus/video-08b.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Young Nile crocodiles stalking, catching and eating prey" ><img src="http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/4B/4B83697C-8EAC-4012-B3BE-CD5C8B64D690/Presentation.Portlet/Young-Nile-crocodiles-stalking-catching-and-eating-prey.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Young Nile crocodiles stalking, catching and eating prey" title="ARKive video - Young Nile crocodiles stalking, catching and eating prey" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of a young Nile crocodile staking, catching and eating prey. Then select full screen.

Neil’s Photography http://www.flickr.com

Lizards that eat insects and worms have many tiny sharp teeth that they use to seize and chew their prey.

ShutterBugL http://www.flickr.com

Even the ferocious komodo dragon has fairly short sharp teeth. However, its saliva has deadly bacteria that infect the bitten prey causing it to die.

A turtle has a strong beak to seize and eat its food. A turtle does not have teeth. It uses the jaws of its beak to cut and chew food. The upper and lower jaws have hard ridges.

coda’s goa-entranced http://www.flickr.com/

Carnivorous turtles have knife-sharp ridges on their jaws for slicing through prey.

Tarotastic http://www.flickr.com/

Skull of alligator snapping turtle.Notice the beak and the absence of teeth.

In the following video you will see an Alligator Snapping Turtle with a tongue like a worm luring a fish into its mouth.

http://www.arkive.org/alligator-snapping-turtle/macrochelys-temminckii/video-08a.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Alligator snapping turtle luring in and catching fish" ><img src="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/C9/C9FC44B0-0B1C-487C-92FC-21981E0CCCC6/Presentation.Portlet/Alligator-snapping-turtle-luring-in-and-catching-fish.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Alligator snapping turtle luring in and catching fish" title="ARKive video - Alligator snapping turtle luring in and catching fish" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of an Alligator snapping turtle luring in and catching fish. Then select full screen.

uses to rip and tear meat. It also has large jagged molars at the back of the jaw to crush bones.

Wikipedia Coomons

A carnivore such as a dog or large cat like a lion has pointed “canine” teeth that it

These carnivores have small front incisor teeth as well. They use their incisors to do things that need fine control, such as catching fleas, carrying their young or peeling the skin off an animal.

Wikipedia Commons

Mother lion carrying its baby.

skull of red fox

molarcanine

incisor

Canines typically have teeth similar to these.

Instead of teeth, some predators use other devices to catch prey. One example is a spider that mainly eats insects.

Jeannot7 http://www.flickr.com/

Many spiders spin sticky webs. When an insect flies into one of these webs, it gets stuck.

/

As soon as an insect is caught in its web, the spider rushes in and injects a venom which paralyzes the victim. The venom also starts breaking down the insects body so that the spider can digest it.

TromboMarina http://www.afsc.noaa.gov..

http://www.afsc.noaa.gov

Neverletmego http://www.afsc.noaa.gov

Sea anemones and jellyfish, like spiders, use venom to stun their prey. They use their tentacles to inject poison into the prey before stuffing it into their mouths.

http://www.arkive.org/common-jellyfish/aurelia-aurita/video-08.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Common jellyfish polyps feeding on plankton" ><img src="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/DD/DD36F687-C99F-4D9C-B9E1-93182EF01E78/Presentation.Portlet/Common-jellyfish-polyps-feeding-on-plankton.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Common jellyfish polyps feeding on plankton" title="ARKive video - Common jellyfish polyps feeding on plankton" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of a jellyfish feeding on plankton. Then select full screen.

Chameleons, frogs, toads and salamanders like many spiders eat flying insects. Instead of a sticky web, these animals have sticky tongues. They quickly flick out their tongue snatching the insect flying in midair.

http://slohs.slcusd.org

Chameleon catching a moth

http://www.arkive.org/panther-chameleon/furcifer-pardalis/video-08.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Panther chameleon feeding" ><img src="http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/5A/5A1B5B87-1F56-4723-9F68-2355009DF408/Presentation.Portlet/Panther-chameleon-feeding.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Panther chameleon feeding" title="ARKive video - Panther chameleon feeding" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of a Panther chameleon feeding. Then select full screen.

Some carnivores have body parts other than teeth, jaws or tongues that help them catch their prey.

Some animals use their claws or talons to catch and hold their prey.

http://images.fws.gov/

In the following video you will see a Stellar’s Sea Eagle catching a fish with its talons. It uses its keen eyesight to locate the fish while flying far above the water.

http://www.arkive.org/stellers-sea-eagle/haliaeetus-pelagicus/video-08b.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Steller's sea eagle catching fish" ><img src="http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/2A/2AF9B1A7-6E59-4058-BC83-D5D50C7D0FF0/Presentation.Portlet/Stellers-sea-eagle-catching-fish.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Steller's sea eagle catching fish" title="ARKive video - Steller's sea eagle catching fish" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of a Steller’s sea eagle catching fish. Then select full screen.

http://animals.howstuffworks.

Some predators can use camouflage to ambush their prey. Blending in with their surroundings, their prey find it difficult to see them until its too late..

In the following video, you will see a lion blending in with the color of the grass as he stalks a Defasse Waterbuck.

http://www.arkive.org/waterbuck/kobus-ellipsiprymnus/video-de12.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Defassa waterbuck being chased by a lion" ><img src="http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/D4/D456E566-EF9E-4ED6-8F7F-BADBE729448B/Presentation.Portlet/Defassa-waterbuck-being-chased-by-a-lion.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Defassa waterbuck being chased by a lion" title="ARKive video - Defassa waterbuck being chased by a lion" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of a female African lion lurking in tall grass as it stalks a Defassa waterbuck. Then select full screen.

This flounder, for example, takes on the color and texture of the sea floor and waits for a smaller fish to swim by. When it does, the flounder invites it in for dinner.

http://animals.howstuffworks

Predators have keen senses that allow them to detect prey. Animals such as coyotes have a keen sense of smell.

http://images.fws.gov/

High flying birds of prey such as eagles and hawks can spot tiny animals, like mice, squirrels and snakes, far below them on the ground.

omnoonic on flickr.com

http://images.fws.gov/

Owls have specialized eyes that allow them to see very clearly at night. Their sense of hearing is also very keen.

Uhu2 http://www.flickr.com

http://www.geol.umd.edu/

Fish have a special organ called a lateral line running down their sides which detect vibrations and movement in the water. This allows them to detect prey as well as avoid predators.

.

http://images.fws.gov/

Carnivores have often have other “tricks” or behaviors that help them be better hunters.

For example what are the lynx and the lion doing to help catch their prey?

python

http://animals.howstuffworks.

Some animals hunt in groups to increase their chances of catching a prey.

What adaptation do you think the cheetah has which helps it catch its prey?

Would you want to take on something this big? The polar bear’s size and strength helps it overpower its prey.

http://animals.howstuffworks

The adaptations an animal acquires to help get and eat his food will depend on what the food is.

•Herbivores eat only plants, no meat. They don’t have to catch their food, only find it.

•Carnivores eat only meat, not plants. They have to find and catch their food, and sometimes the “food” fights back.

•Omnivores eat both meat and plants.Finally

Omnivores such as black bears have many of the other adaptations such as size and claws.

by Ru_24_real http://www.flickr.com

This is a skull of a black bear which is an omnivore. Notice the long sharp canines for catching prey and ripping flesh, the flat back molars for grinding plants and front flat incisors for cutting off tough plants.

Earlier you studied bird beaks and how each is adapted to the diet of the bird. Now you can see that other animals also have many kinds of adaptations that allow them to satisfy their need for food.

http://www.skullsunlimited.com

http://www.boneclones.com

Thanks to the following for graciously granting permission for the videos and the pictures of skulls.

http://www.arkiveeducation.org/