Walrus teeth
Ok, so everyone knows about Walrus tusks but this photo gives a view of its other teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. I don't recall ever seeing a photo of a wild Walrus where the teeth were visible. It is as if the dentist had just asked him to open wide. Walrus tusks are modified canine teeth that are possessed by both males and females. The rest of the teeth are variable in number, but usually they have about 18 including tusks, but as many as 38 have been recorded, which is more than humans (adult humans have 32). The teeth also erupt simultaneously and the root cones can expand in the growing jaw of a young Walrus, which means they have no need for extra "wisdom teeth" as they get larger. This mechanism of expanding root cones is apparently not known in any other mammal.
You can also see the muscular tongue, which is used for feeding. They seal their lips around bivalve molluscs such as clams, then rapidly withdraw their tongue like a piston, creating a vacuum strong enough to suck the contents out of the clam shells. The Walrus palate has a special vaulted structure to create this suction.
This wild Walrus was loafing in the shallows in north Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. And one final thing; that "scar" that looks like a bullet hole behind the eye is actually its ear hole. And they have a very good sense of hearing.
Walrus teeth
Ok, so everyone knows about Walrus tusks but this photo gives a view of its other teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. I don't recall ever seeing a photo of a wild Walrus where the teeth were visible. It is as if the dentist had just asked him to open wide. Walrus tusks are modified canine teeth that are possessed by both males and females. The rest of the teeth are variable in number, but usually they have about 18 including tusks, but as many as 38 have been recorded, which is more than humans (adult humans have 32). The teeth also erupt simultaneously and the root cones can expand in the growing jaw of a young Walrus, which means they have no need for extra "wisdom teeth" as they get larger. This mechanism of expanding root cones is apparently not known in any other mammal.
You can also see the muscular tongue, which is used for feeding. They seal their lips around bivalve molluscs such as clams, then rapidly withdraw their tongue like a piston, creating a vacuum strong enough to suck the contents out of the clam shells. The Walrus palate has a special vaulted structure to create this suction.
This wild Walrus was loafing in the shallows in north Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. And one final thing; that "scar" that looks like a bullet hole behind the eye is actually its ear hole. And they have a very good sense of hearing.