Speaking of the most toothy animals that live on our planet, people often mean crocodiles or sharks. But these individuals occupy far from the first place among representatives of the fauna with the largest number of teeth. Oddly enough, the most toothy animal is not at all bloodthirsty and does not belong to the class of predators.

Armadillos

The dwarf battleship (Zaedyus pichiy) is the only representative of the genus Zaedyus to date. It is found in central and southern Argentina, in the Chilean Andes and in the Strait of Magellan. He selects arid meadows and plains for living. The diet consists mainly of insects and worms, sometimes dwarf armadillos eat moss and plants. They can also eat animal food, namely small vertebrates - rodents and lizards.

On the upper jaw, on the right and left, they have an average of 8 teeth, on the lower - about 9. Total - up to 40 pieces, a little more than a person. However, in other representatives of the family of armadillos, for example, a giant armadillo, this amount can reach 100.

Common possum

Common Opossum (Didelphis) belongs to the family of possums, which belongs to the genus marsupials. This genus arose more than 60 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era, and has not changed much since then.

Opossums inhabit the lowlands and hilly areas of South and North America, more often - near water bodies. They feed on amphibians, reptiles, small rodents, and invertebrates. Do not disdain and carrion. From plant foods they can eat mushrooms, cultivated plants, especially like cereals and corn, often harm agriculture.

The dental system of possums is primitive. All species have 50 teeth, including 9 incisors - 4 on the lower and 5 on the upper jaw.

Marsupial Anteater

Other names for the marsupial anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus) are ants and nambat. This animal belongs to the monotypic family Myrmecobiidae, a order of predatory marsupials. The birthplace of Nambat is Australia, the western and southern parts. But with the beginning of European colonization, the area narrowed, and today representatives of the species can only be found in the southwest of the mainland, in eucalyptus or acacia forests.

Marsupial anteater is the only marsupial animal that feeds only on insects. His diet consists mainly of termites; sometimes he eats ants. Tearing soil or rotting wood with claws, the nambat catches insects with a sticky tongue, and then chews it. Given such cravings in food, anteater does not need strong fangs - its teeth are small and weak, can vary in length and width. The total number is from 50 to 52 pieces.

Sperm whale

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) - marine mammals, the only animals to date belonging to the sperm whale family. Their range is quite extensive - they are found throughout the oceans, with the exception of northern and cold southern latitudes.

They feed mainly on cephalopods, mainly squids, and sometimes eat octopuses and cuttlefish. But they can also swallow larger prey, as they have the ability to open their mouths 90 degrees.

The teeth of the predator are mainly located on the lower jaw, from 20 to 26 pairs. Each of them, when closing its mouth, enters a recess in the upper jaw. There are also teeth at the top, but only 1-3 pairs. It is noteworthy that males always have more teeth than females.

Alligators

The genus of alligators (Alligator) includes 2 species - Mississippian (American) and Chinese. These reptiles live only in the USA and China. Their main difference from the "brothers" in the detachment, crocodiles, is in the shape of the muzzle and the structure of the jaw. For alligators, the muzzle is rounded, blunt, and for crocodiles - sharp. When the jaw is closed, the first one covers its teeth, and the second remains the fourth lower row.

Alligators feed on almost everything that they can catch - fish, snails, crustaceans, turtles, birds, small mammals. Sometimes they eat carrion. People, unlike crocodiles, are rarely attacked. Adult individuals prey on deer, wild pigs, and other large animals, capturing prey with sharp teeth, which have about 80 of them. Moreover, as they wear out, they are replaced.

Dolphin Squirrel

Another name for this animal is the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), a representative of the dolphin family. It lives in different latitudes of the World Ocean, but is most often found in the temperate and tropical. Its diet consists of fish and cephalopods.

Squirrels are recognized as the fastest of all known species of dolphins. Straying in groups, they often accompany ships. In addition, it is a seemingly harmless animal - the most toothy not only in the suborder of toothed whales, but also among all mammals. Have a little barrel from 200 to 210 teethmedium-sized, having a conical shape.

Indian leech

Leeches (Hirudinea) belong to the class of girdle and a subclass of annelids. They live in different parts of the planet, with the exception of regions with a harsh climate. Most often found in fresh water, but some species live in the sea and even on land. The main food of leeches is the blood of worms, vertebrates and mollusks. Some of them are capable of swallowing whole prey.

About 500 species of these worms are known. But the most toothy of them is the Indian leech. She has as many as 3 jaws reinforced with a chitinous layer, in each of them from 70 to 100 teeth. In individuals, the total number exceeds 300 pieces.

Gray sharks

Gray (sawtooth or carcharine) sharks (Carcharhinidae) - a family of 32 species, 7 of which are freshwater. The rest live in the temperate, subtropical and tropical latitudes of the oceans.

The diet of these predators consists of fish and crustaceans. There are frequent attacks on people. In the jaws of this huge fish from 2 to 3 thousand sharp, bent teeth. Moreover, the shark uses only those that are in the first 2 rows, the rest are spare. When one of the "working" teeth becomes unusable, the next one is advanced from the back row - on the principle of a conveyor.

Snails

Snails are called mollusks belonging to the class Gastropoda (gastropods), including marine ones. They are found in different parts of the world. These creatures are herbivores, in the sea they feed on algae, and on land - leaves and fruits.

Snails have about 14 thousand teeth. Despite the microscopic size, they are very strong and sharp, distributed in rows, which number from 100 to 130 pieces. Thus, the dental system of mollusks is similar to a small grater, thanks to which they are able not only to snack, but also to grind food. In addition, snails are voracious, for example, grape is able to eat a medium-sized tomato per day.

Big roadside slug

The large slug (Limax maximus) belongs to the gastropod, but in the process of evolution it lost a shell. This is one of the largest slugs (up to 18 cm in length), living only on land. Europe is considered his homeland, but this mollusk is found in other parts of the world. Roadside slug eats berries, leaves and fruits. He has up to 30 thousand teeth, it is voracious, like snails, and harms crops.

So, the most toothy animal on the planet is a harmless slug. He overtook dangerous predators - an alligator and a shark.