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Dental pad

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

A close-up view of a cow's teeth, showing the absence of upper incisors and canine teeth.

The dental pad or browsing pad is a special feature found in the mouths of animals like cows, sheep, and camels. These animals do not have upper front teeth, called incisors, so the dental pad helps them grab and eat large amounts of grass and other plants.

Dental pad of domestic livestock. Note the lack of upper incisors and canine teeth.

In cattle, the tongue moves to pick up food and holds it between the dental pad and the lower front teeth. This helps them take in bits of grass, but it means they can't bite the grass very close to the ground. Because of this, they usually eat grass that is about 6 inches (15 cm) or more from the ground. This special pad is very important for how these animals eat and survive.

Images

A billy goat showing a natural behavior called the flehmen response, useful for sensing pheromones in the air.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Dental pad, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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