The cheetah, a powerful and agile predator, relies on its unique physical characteristics to thrive. Renowned for its incredible speed, its specialized anatomy allows it to pursue and capture prey efficiently. Its dental structure plays an important role in hunting success and survival, providing insight into its predatory lifestyle.
The Precise Number: A Hunter’s Arsenal
Adult cheetahs possess a total of 30 teeth. These teeth are distributed across their jaws, with 16 located in the upper jaw and 14 in the lower jaw. On each side of the mouth, cheetahs have three incisors, one canine, three premolars in the upper jaw and two in the lower, and one molar in both the upper and lower jaws.
This dental configuration is well-suited for a carnivorous diet, allowing cheetahs to effectively process the meat of their prey. While their teeth are robust for their size, they are not as large or powerful as those of some other big cats, a trade-off for their adaptations for speed.
Specialized Teeth and Their Roles
Each type of tooth serves a distinct purpose in a cheetah’s hunting and feeding strategy. The incisors, positioned at the front of the mouth, are used for fine manipulation, such as skinning carcasses and removing fur from prey. These teeth enable the cheetah to access the flesh of its kill.
The four long, sharp canine teeth are important for securing prey during a hunt. Cheetahs use these canines to grab and hold onto fleeing animals, delivering a precise killing bite. They often target the throat, using their canines to suffocate their prey by clamping down on the windpipe or jugular vein. Unlike some other large felids, cheetah canines are relatively smaller, a characteristic linked to their skull adaptations for speed and large nasal passages.
Behind the canines, the premolars and molars are modified into specialized shearing teeth known as carnassials. The fourth upper premolar and the first lower molar form the primary carnassial pair. These blade-like teeth function like scissors, allowing the cheetah to efficiently slice through flesh, muscle, and even bone. This adaptation enables rapid consumption of meat, a strategy that helps cheetahs eat quickly before larger predators can steal their kill.
Dental Health in the Wild
Cheetahs in their natural habitat face various dental challenges despite their specialized teeth. Natural wear and tear occur over time, but more significant issues like fractured teeth are common. Complicated crown fractures, which expose the tooth’s sensitive inner pulp, are frequently observed and tend to increase with the cheetah’s age. These injuries can result from the struggles of prey or from chewing on bones.
Focal palatine erosion (FPE), a condition where the lower molar creates depressions or even perforations in the upper palate, is also prevalent in wild cheetah populations. Studies in Namibia have shown that over 40% of wild cheetahs exhibit deep palatine erosion, with 15.3% having perforated palates. This condition was once thought to be primarily a captive issue due to soft diets, but its occurrence in wild cheetahs suggests other contributing factors.
Other dental anomalies observed in wild cheetahs include crowded lower incisors and, less frequently, the absence of one or both upper premolars. While their diet of tearing meat can help clean teeth and prevent plaque buildup, maintaining optimal oral health remains a continuous challenge for cheetahs in the wild, directly impacting their ability to hunt and survive.