Tooth comb

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Tooth comb of a ring-tailed lemur

The tooth comb is a tooth structure found in the pointed squirrels and most wet-nosed monkeys .

It consists of the incisors and canines of the lower jaw, these teeth protrude forward and are noticeably slender and elongated. The tooth comb is composed of 6 (4 incisors and 2 canine teeth) in the wet-nosed monkeys and 8 teeth (6 incisors and 2 canine teeth) in the pointed horns. As the canines become functional incisors, the anterior premolars take over their function and are reshaped accordingly. There is also often a gap between the tooth comb and the anterior premolar as well as between this and the molars behind it .

The tooth comb is primarily used for grooming, but it also serves as a "spoon" to pick up soft fruit parts and vegetable juices. It is unlikely that this structure evolved as an adaptation to grooming, presumably food intake is the more original purpose.

In the past, the tooth comb was considered to be evidence of the close relationship between shrews and primates. Due to the different number of teeth, however, this structure is only viewed as a convergent development today .

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