A toothcomb is a dental structure most commonly known in lemuriform primates (which includes lemurs and lorisoids). Similar dental structures can be found in other mammals, such as colugos, treeshrews, and some African antelopes, but these structures evolved independently through convergent evolution. Toothcombs vary in dental composition and structure. The toothcomb of lemuriform primates include incisors and canine teeth that tilt forward at the front of the lower jaw, followed by a canine-shaped first premolar. The toothcombs in other animals usually have incisors only. The comb is formed by fine spaces between the teeth, although in colugos the individual incisors are serrated, providing multiple tines per tooth. The toothcomb is kept clean by either the tongue or, in the case of lemuriforms, the sublingua, a specialized "under-tongue". The toothcomb is usually used for grooming. While licking the fur clean, the animal will run the toothcomb through the fur to comb it. Fine grooves or striations are usually cut into the teeth during grooming by the hair and may be seen on the sides of the teeth when viewed through a scanning electron microscope.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toothcomb
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1422:
The Treaty of Melno was signed, establishing the Prussian–Lithuanian border, which afterwards remained unchanged for about 500 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Melno
1941:
SS Patrick Henry, the first of 2,751 Liberty ships built during World War II by the United States, was launched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_ship
1983:
Software developer Richard Stallman announced plans for the Unix-like GNU operating system (logo pictured), the first free software developed by the GNU Project. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU
1993:
War in Abkhazia: After capturing the city of Sukhumi, Abkhaz separatists and their allies massacred large numbers of Georgian civilians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhumi_massacre
2001:
The Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University, the only university exclusively for the disabled in the world, was founded in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, India. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadguru_Rambhadracharya_Handicapped_University
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
hallux: The big toe. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hallux
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty. --Samuel Adams https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams