Opossum Fact #12: Opossums have 50 teeth

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

Please note that this fact was edited as the original quote from Wikipedia was removed for being inaccurate - thank you @anon6789@lemmy.world for the correction!

ickplant 7 points 16 days ago

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HerbalGamer 6 points 16 days ago

Thats to keep the screams contained.

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anon6789 5 points 16 days ago

I'm unsure about this assertion. (In a polite way!)

I don't think of opossums as strong biters. The times I've been nipped at by them and based on what they eat don't seem to necessitate strong jaws.

I didn't see any actual statement in the opossum wiki, just that they have a large sagittal crest, which they do.

The larger crest, as indicated by the sagittal crest wiki, states that usually indicates a strong bite, but I was unable to find much actual data. I saw a number of folks state 45 psi, including ourr. I saw a number of folks state 45 psi, including our pals at For Fox Sake.

That's about a third of our bite, the average not-scary dog is around 200, and big dogs are 300ish.

I'll try and confirm this tomorrow if I get a chance to talk to one of the big shots at the rehab. I feel this is just something extrapolated from other animals, but that's just my mix of opinion and experience.

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ickplant 3 points 15 days ago

Thank you for pointing this out! I copied the text from Wikipedia a few months ago when making the graphics for these facts, and it looks like the article got edited because it was inaccurate. I will change it to maybe reflect the fact that they have 50 teeth, which is a lot for mammals.

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anon6789 1 point 15 days ago

Well, here is one of the big reasons I pursued working with these animals and they're people in person... Not being able to trust everything you read, or sometimes the things you can't find info on.

So the head rehabber and the animal education guy were both in this morning grabbing a pile of turtles, so I asked about the opossum bite. They looked at me like I was crazy thinking it was weak! 😄

They will do just about anything they can to not have to fight/bite, but she said the worst bite she ever got was from an opossum from that jaw muscle and those 50 teeth. So for whatever reason, they sound like they do have beartrap jaws. Their food doesn't require it, their normal defensive style doesn't require it, but they've got it!

So I withdrew my challenge. It seems I just have not been bitten by an angry enough opossum yet! 😅

I did get another squirrel bite today, but thankfully this one didn't draw blood like the flying squirrel last week did!

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jws_shadotak 4 points 16 days ago

scrungy face

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tetris11 4 points 16 days ago

O Possum O Possum
Oh what have you done?
The bishop is dead
And you're holding the gun

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