In herbivorous mammals, we see a type of molar that is called hypsodont, meaning "high tooth." Teeth that start out tall can be worn down by grinding as the animal ages without completely destroying the tooth. (Remember that adult mammals cannot replace lost teeth the way that sharks and many reptiles can; they must make their teeth last their entire lives.) Adult mammals that reach extreme old age might actually wear down their teeth to the point that they can no longer chew their food and will then starve to death or be weakened to the point that they are easy prey.
One type of hypsodont molar is the selenodont tooth. Selenodont dentition is found in the Artiodactyl Order, a group of animals that contains the camels, members of the deer family, antelope and cattle. Selenodont means "moon tooth," and refers to the general moon shape of the cusps of the teeth.
Another type of hypsodont molar is the lophodont tooth, meaning "ridge tooth." Lophodont dentition is found in the Perissodactyl Order, a group of animals that contains horses (including donkeys, asses and zebras), tapirs and rhinos.
Mammals that tend to be more omnivorous, such as pigs, bears, primates (including humans) and some rodents, have lower-crowned teeth with cusps that form separate, rounded hillocks called bunodont teeth. The bunodont tooth is used more for crushing food and some grinding, and allows an animal to have a more varied diet. You notice that humans have bunodont dentition; this allows us to eat a variety of foods, fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and junk food.
In my article "Mammoths, Mastodons and Elephants," I wrote about the interesting shape of mammoth teeth, and how they were designed for grazing on grasses. Mammoth teeth have large, flat surfaces that allowed mammoths to grind up their food. As a mammoth tooth wore down, it was replaced by another tooth waiting behind it, but mammoths only had a certain number of teeth. Once they were all worn down, the animal would starve to death. Remember: "mammoths have many labyrinths."
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