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>
Show replies by date