Why do dolphins have teeth if they don’t chew their fish?
Dolphins do not chew their food but rather swallow their prey whole. They typically swallow large fish head first, so that they do not scratch their throat and esophagus with the fish’s scales. They do need their teeth to catch their prey, and the cone-shape aids in firm grasping. Dolphins also use their teeth socially, in a behavior called “raking”, in which they use their teeth to scratch each other. This behavior is typically used as a way to establish dominance, exhibit aggression, or to moderate behavior. Dolphins have a very thick outer (epidermal) skin layer. The surface of their epidermis is replaced up to every 2 hours to promote a smooth hydrodynamic surface (decreases drag when swimming) and to prevent the colonization of fouling organisms on their skin.
