THE ANIMAL FILES

Walrus

Odobenus rosmarus

The tusks get the portrait; sensitive whiskers help find dinner.

Walrus tusks are enlarged canine teeth present in both sexes. Beneath them is a dense field of sensitive whiskers used during seafloor feeding, where suction—not simply biting with tusks—helps extract soft food from shells.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Walrus
Image: Nixette · Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tusks
Elongated canines in both sexes[1]
Whiskers
Sensitive, well supplied with nerves[1]
Frequent food
Bottom-dwelling bivalves[1]

Canines with several uses

Tusks contribute to display and competition and can help a walrus haul itself onto ice. They are not simply oversized feeding knives. Wear-pattern studies challenge the old picture of tusks as the principal tools used to dig prey from the seabed.[1]

Touch works in a murky feeding place

The stiff whiskers around the muzzle are supplied with muscles, blood vessels and nerves. A walrus uses them to search and identify items on the bottom while its movements can stir sediment. Sensitive contact is particularly useful when the feeding process itself makes visibility worse.[1]

A tongue helps generate suction

Walruses commonly take benthic bivalves. The lips form a seal and rapid tongue withdrawal produces suction that removes soft tissue from the shell. Their foraging also disturbs bottom sediments, moving material and nutrients, so feeding leaves physical changes in the seafloor after the animal moves on.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Are tusks the walrus’s main shell-cracking teeth?

That is an incomplete description. The documented feeding system relies strongly on whisker-guided searching and suction. Tusks have other roles, including display and helping the animal move onto ice.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why would touch become useful while digging in sediment?

Reveal the explanation

Disturbed fine particles can obscure the view. Whiskers can still supply information through contact, allowing the animal to investigate the bottom even when its own feeding movements make the water cloudy.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Walrus (fixed revision; adapted and translated)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Odobenus rosmarus (identity and classification)

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

California sea lionThe flippers that drive a swim can also support a walk ashore.Zalophus californianus ↗Grey sealUnderwater applause is not just a trained trick.Halichoerus grypus ↗WolfA pack is a social family, not just a contest for a title.Canis lupus ↗