• Ken Oh@lemm.ee
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    1 day ago

    Circa 2008 the wikipedia entry for vampire bat claimed that their teeth were like this. archive.org didn’t capture it at that time, but another page copied the whole thing: https://www.mundoandino.com/Argentina/Vampire-bat

    The bats incisor teeth are hollow, allowing them to suck blood in through the teeth like a straw, the saliva has several ingredients that prolong bleeding.

    My favorite thing about this is: where does the blood go once it hits the top of the tooth? Into the gums? Into the sinuses? Out the back of the tooth and into the mouth, removing the need of a straw in the first place?

    • fern
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      1 day ago

      I assumed they were basically reverse snake fangs

      Diagram

      • Ken Oh@lemm.ee
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        20 hours ago

        So it goes into a glad/reservoir in the head somewhere…then?

        • fern
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          17 hours ago

          That’s my thought, that it’s essentially pulled into the poison glad sac

    • emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de
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      17 hours ago

      If it does go out the back of the tooth i wouldnt say that removes the need for a straw. Its like a siphon tube into a gas tank, but the tooth goes directly into the vein/artery and acts as a conduit for the blood so it doesnt spill everywhere or require a perfect suction seal with the lips.