On the first page of the chapter Shubin says that “The job of teeth is to make bigger creatures into smaller pieces” (pg 60). What a true and simple explanation of the purpose of our teeth; however there is a larger purpose to our teeth, which he explains throughout the chapter
We can learn more about animals by looking at it teeth because we can see if it was a carnivore, or herbivore and that can help us see what type of diet the animal had and can lead to deciphering what environment that animal is living in.
I was really amazed while reading this chapter; I never realized how important our teeth are. Due to the teeth’s hardness they are the best preserved animal part found in a fossil. That’s pretty cool.
I was jealous of the fact that the teeth of reptiles can be replaced all through their life. :)
When Shubin was talking about his expedition in the Arizona desert with Chuck I felt bad for him since Chuck was finding more bones than him. But finally Shubin found a piece of tooth along with bones. When I read this I screamed “YEA”!
I was very interested in learning about the fish ostracoderm. Ostraderms were amongst the earliest creatures with bony heads. The diagram on page 77 of the fish was so cute. Haha.
In all I agree with what Nirav said, chapter 4 really made me appreciate my teeth and it was real easy to understand :)
- Nikita Patel
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