Thursday, November 5, 2009

What's worse? Their vicious temperament, or their poor diet?

Q: When comparing the dental formulae of a rat and a human, what features indicate a difference in the diet of the two species? What do these differences suggest about the diets of both species?

A: [The rats have]…one canine on each side and three molars on each side. The rat [therefore] uses canines to rip & tear the food & the molars to grind it. The ripping and tearing is for the meat that the rat eats & the grinding is for the corn it steals from farmers. We have incisors and premolars which are used for biting & chewing, [therefore] we have a diet with softer things such as vegetables etc.

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