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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by xylogx@lemmy.world to c/herpetology@mander.xyz

I took this picture of what looks like a Gopher Tortoise in Florida on the west coast near Tampa. It looks to me like it has teeth, which was surprising to me.

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[-] cadamanteus@mander.xyz 12 points 1 year ago

They have "teeth" in the same way some birds have "teeth." For tortoises, there are some pointy bits on the beak that function similar to our teeth, but they do not fall out like ours often do. It's just for pulling leaves off of plants in arid environments. Again, some birds have "teeth" almost like this, but they function more like filters for birds that sort through mud and water to find food.

[-] xylogx@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Great explanation, thanks for the info!

this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2023
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