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An example of a deer's mandible and teeth. Most deer bear 32 teeth; the corresponding dental formula is: 0.0.3.3 3.1.3.3. The elk and the reindeer may be exceptions, as they may retain their upper canines and thus have 34 teeth (dental formula: 0.1.3.3 3.1.3.3). [45]
Most ungulates have developed reduced canine teeth and specialized molars, including bunodont (low, rounded cusps) and hypsodont (high crowned) teeth. The development of hypsodonty has been of particular interest as this adaptation was strongly associated with the spread of grasslands during the Miocene about 25 million years ago.
The ancestors of deer had tusks (long upper canine teeth). In most species, antlers appear to replace tusks. However, one modern species (the water deer) has tusks and no antlers and the muntjacs have small antlers and tusks. The musk deer, which are not true cervids, also bear tusks in place of antlers. [6]
Muntjac have expanded rapidly, and are present in most English counties and also in Wales, although they are less common in the north-west. The British Deer Society in 2007 found that muntjac deer had noticeably expanded their range in the UK since 2000. [13] Specimens appeared in Northern Ireland in 2009, and in the Republic of Ireland in 2010.
Many mammal species in various families have tusks, which often serve the same functions as horns, but are in fact oversized teeth. These include the Moschidae (Musk deer, which are ruminants), Suidae ( Wild Boars ), Proboscidea ( Elephants ), Monodontidae ( Narwhals ) and Odobenidae ( Walruses ).
The water deer have developed long canine teeth which protrude from the upper jaw like the canines of musk deer. The canines are fairly large in the bucks, ranging in length from 5.5 cm (2.2 in) on average to as long as 8 cm (3.1 in).
Two men who enjoy looking for antlers share their insights on why you should also be looking for these natural treasures.
Musk deer can refer to any one, or all eight, of the species that make up Moschus, the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. [1] Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their family is closely related to Bovidae, the group that contains antelopes, bovines, sheep, and goats.