Tusk

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Tusk

Tusks are unusually long teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth

Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
of certain mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
species.

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Encyclopedia

Tusks are unusually long teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth

Mouth

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
species. They are most commonly canines

Canine tooth

In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, fangs, or eye teeth, are relatively long, pointed tooth....
, as with warthog

Warthog

The warthog or common warthog is a wild member of the Suidae that lives in Africa. The common name comes from the four large wart-like protrusions found on the head of the warthog, which serve the purpose of defense when males fight....
s, wild boar

Boar

The wild boar , or colloquially simply called the boar, is an omnivorous, wikt:gregarious mammal of the family Suidae. It is native across much of Central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and much of Asia as far south as Indonesia, and has been introduced elsewhere....
, and walrus

Walrus

The walrus is a large pinniped marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere....
es, or, in the case of elephant

Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant ....
s and narwhal

Narwhal

The narwhal is a medium-sized toothed whale that lives year-round in the Arctic. One of two species of whale in the Monodontidae family , along with the Beluga whale, the narwhal males are distinguished by a characteristic long, straight, helical tusk extending from their upper left jaw....
s, elongated incisors. Tusks are generally curved and pointed, though the narwhal's sole tusk is straight and has a helical structure.

Uses

Tusks have a variety of uses depending on the animal. Social dispays of dominances, particularly among males, is common, as is their use in defense against predators. Elephants use them as digging and boring tools. Walruses use them to grip on ice and to haul out on ice. The presence of tusks in only the male narwhals suggests that for these whales it is a secondary sexual characteristic.

Tusks are used by humans to produce ivory

Ivory

File:Ivory decoration.jpgIvory is formed from dentine and constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth and narwhal....
, which is used in artifacts and jewelry, and formerly in other items such as piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
keys. Consequently, many tusk bearing species have been hunted commercially and several are endangered. The ivory trade has been severely restricted by the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Tusk

Uses

See also

External links