Do Whales Have Teeth? (Differences Between Whale Species)
A lot of animals have some form of teeth as a means to chew food. As a matter of fact, when you think about ten animals chances are great that they will probably have teeth. The only common exceptions are birds. You might already know that whales are mammals and not fish. Most mammals have teeth, with a few exceptions. But do whales have teeth?
Whales are divided into toothed whales and baleen plated whales. Toothed whales such as dolphins, narwhals, and killer whales have teeth. Baleen plated whales such as blue whales or humpback whales on the other hand don’t have teeth but use plates made of keratin to filter and sift food.
So, whales are an exception to the general rule that mammals have teeth. But there are still some whales that have teeth. It all just depends on the species of whale we’re looking at. But not all teeth are the same. We’re going to look into whale teeth and discover some interesting facts about them concerning the number of teeth and their sharpness.
Toothed and Baleen Whales
Whales are part of the Cetacea order, which is further divided into the Odontoceti and Mysticeti suborders, meaning toothed and baleen plated whales. What are the similarities and differences between these two suborders?
Similarities
Baleen whales and toothed whales, like all cetaceans, are aquatic and marine animals. Both tend to take very long migrations and some are very fast swimmers. Both suborders also tend to stray far from shore, with occasional species coming close to shore at some point in their life cycle.[1]Bannister, J.L. 2009. Baleen Whales (Mysticetes). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition), 80-89
Differences
Baleen plates vs teeth
Baleen whales differ primarily from toothed whales in the fact that they have jaws consisting of baleen plates instead of teeth.
![](https://masterbiologist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1024px-Baleen_Plate_of_Brydes_Whale.jpeg)
These plates, made of keratin (the same material that makes our nails and hair), allow baleen whales to filter feed, where they can sieve, sift, or filter small animals such as krill, plankton, or fish, from large amounts of water.
Toothed whales, on the other hand, have physical teeth that allow them to consume much larger food via mechanical digestion.[2]Bannister, J.L. 2009. Baleen Whales (Mysticetes). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition), 80-89
Although there is a clear difference between modern baleen and toothed whales, ancient baleen whales had similar well-developed teeth as their toothed counterparts. Although it was thought that ancient baleen whales may have used their teeth in combination with filter feeding, research has shown that this was most likely not the case and that there was a clear transition between the usage of teeth and baleen. This means that, although ancient baleen whales also had teeth due to their niche at the time, their ecosystem probably changed over time which required them to change their feeding strategy from biting to suction (Evans et al. 2017).[3]Evans, A.R., Fitzgerald, E.M.G., Hocking, D.P., & Marx, F.G. 2017. Ancient whales did not filter feed with their teeth. Royal Society, 13
Other differences
Baleen whales have paired blowholes with two nostrils, thus it’s normal to see a larger, bushier blow of air compared to toothed whales who only have single blowholes. Baleen whales also differ from toothed whales in that they have symmetrical skulls and an absence of ribs that articulate around the sternum.[4]Bannister, J.L. 2009. Baleen Whales (Mysticetes). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition), 80-89
Baleen whales are generally much larger than their toothed counterparts. Large species, such as the blue whale (which can grow to over 30 meters long and weigh up to 170 tons) and the humpback, are common among baleen whales.[5]Bannister, J.L. 2009. Baleen Whales (Mysticetes). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition), 80-89
![](https://masterbiologist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/3013552_orig.jpg)
Finally, there are typically many more species of toothed whales than baleen whales since toothed whales not only include whale species but all dolphins and porpoises as well.
How Many Teeth Do Toothed Whales Have?
The number of teeth in whales varies widely depending on the species. Some may only have one or two teeth, while others may have over 240. The dental patterns also vary depending on the species, with some having teeth in both the upper and lower jaws and others only on the lower jaws (Dental Facts About Whales n.d.).[6]Dental Facts About Whales n.d., accessed 18 September 2021, <https://imagixdental.com/dental-facts-about-whales/>
As you might’ve expected, the reason behind these variations in teeth abundance is due to the different ecosystems and niches that these species inhabit. For example, the narwhal is probably a species of toothed whale that anyone would recognize at first glance. Take one look at them and you’ll see why.
![](https://masterbiologist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Pod_Monodon_monoceros.jpg)
As you probably might’ve guessed, the single protruding tooth is something not found in other toothed whale species. In the case of the narwhal, its single protruding tooth (which can reach over 260 cm in length) is most likely used to hunt and capture prey. Using its protruding tooth, the narwhal can disturb benthic (close to the sea floor) prey and pierce larger prey before killing. Not only that but because there is a high correlation between the scars and the number of broken teeth found on male narwhals, it can be concluded that these protruding teeth are also used for aggressive purposes.[7]Dunbar, M.J. & Silverman, H.B. 1980. Aggressive tusk use by the narwhal (Monodon Monoceros L.). Nature, 284, 57-58
On the other hand, whales can also easily have tens or hundreds of teeth. An example of this would be the common short-beaked dolphin, which, although being a dolphin, is also included in the toothed whales’ suborder.
![](https://masterbiologist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1024px-Delphinus_delphis_teeth-1.jpg)
This species of dolphin, as with dolphins in general, is not nearly as large as most whale species. However, it can easily have over 200 individual teeth in its jaw. As one might expect, the reason for this large abundance of teeth is again due to the dolphin’s associated niche, as common prey for this dolphin species includes squid, seabird-feeding flocks, and schools of tuna, which are quite large themselves. Having this many teeth then allows these dolphins to easily tear through these large prey via mechanical digestion to allow for easier consumption.[8]Short-Beaked Common Dolphin n.d., accessed 18 September 2021, <https://fisheries.noaa.gov/species/short-beaked-common-dolphin>
How Sharp Are Whale’s Teeth? (Composition)
Despite the fact that some toothed whales can have over a hundred teeth in their jaws, most of the teeth in toothed whales are actually of a conical shape, meaning that they are mainly used to capture prey, instead of cutting them down. Since the usage of teeth varies widely on the species (i.e. some may use them for showmanship), it can be difficult to define a single shape for the teeth in general (Reidenberg 2007).[9]Reidenberg, J.S. 2007. Anatomical adaptations of aquatic mammals. The Anatomical Record,
290, 507-513
Overall, their teeth structure mainly comprises cementum cells that overlay dentine cells. This is in contrast to human teeth, where we have enamel on the outside of our teeth instead of cementum. Only when the cementum begins to wear off does the enamel beneath begin to show.[10]Reidenberg, J.S. 2007. Anatomical adaptations of aquatic mammals. The Anatomical Record, 290, 507-513
Want To Learn More About Whales?
If you’re interested in learning more about whales you should definitely read the following articles:
- Do Whales Sleep?
- Are Whales Mammals or Fish?
- Are Whales Omnivores?
References
↑1, ↑2, ↑4, ↑5 | Bannister, J.L. 2009. Baleen Whales (Mysticetes). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Second Edition), 80-89 |
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↑3 | Evans, A.R., Fitzgerald, E.M.G., Hocking, D.P., & Marx, F.G. 2017. Ancient whales did not filter feed with their teeth. Royal Society, 13 |
↑6 | Dental Facts About Whales n.d., accessed 18 September 2021, <https://imagixdental.com/dental-facts-about-whales/> |
↑7 | Dunbar, M.J. & Silverman, H.B. 1980. Aggressive tusk use by the narwhal (Monodon Monoceros L.). Nature, 284, 57-58 |
↑8 | Short-Beaked Common Dolphin n.d., accessed 18 September 2021, <https://fisheries.noaa.gov/species/short-beaked-common-dolphin> |
↑9 | Reidenberg, J.S. 2007. Anatomical adaptations of aquatic mammals. The Anatomical Record, 290, 507-513 |
↑10 | Reidenberg, J.S. 2007. Anatomical adaptations of aquatic mammals. The Anatomical Record, 290, 507-513 |