Title: BBC - Earth - The tusks of narwhals are actually teeth that are inside-out
Headings: The tusks of narwhals are actually teeth that are inside-out
The tusks of narwhals are actually teeth that are inside-out
Content: Anyone who believes this needs to think through the practicalities, says Kristin Westdal of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Oceans North Canada. Narwhal tusks can grow to lengths of 2-3m, and they eat relatively small prey like halibut, shrimp and squid. Spearing these animals would be really difficult, and even if a narwhal managed it, it would not have any other appendages long enough to retrieve the fish from its tusk. Many people also have the idea that narwhals chew their food. This is understandable, given that they belong to a group of animals known as " toothed whales ", but it's not true. View image of This is why narwhals don't spear their food (Credit: Nap_Interrupted, CC by 2.0)
"A lot of people think this whale has teeth in its mouth, and it has none," says Nweeia. The only tooth they have is the tusk. This tooth is almost like a piece of skin in the sense that it has all these sensory nerve endings
All sorts of suggestions have been made about the function of the narwhal tusk. Perhaps it is an acoustic probe for detecting sound, or a temperature regulator, or a breathing organ.