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First published online October 31, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 3619-3626 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.020586

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Functional consequences of tooth design: effects of blade shape on energetics of cutting

Philip S. L. Anderson^1,* and Michael LaBarbera²

¹ Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 5734 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
² Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 E. 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

View larger version (11K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Schematic diagrams of the double guillotine.

View larger version (26K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Examples of the blade morphologies used for the experiments. (A) A notched blade set at 120 deg., paired with a normal straight blade. (B) Two examples of notched blades; the top is 120 deg., the bottom is 90 deg. (C) A 120 deg. notched blade matched with a 120 deg. triangular fang blade.

View larger version (22K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 3. (A) Photograph of a straight blade paired with one of the notched blades mounted in the double guillotine. This particular blade is given a 120 deg. notch. (B) Schematic drawing showing the position of the test material between blades in a lateral view. (C) Schematic drawing showing the same as B but in front view. The bottom blade is the straight blade with no notch. The top shows what the 120 deg. notched blade looks like (not to scale). The test material is centered under the notched blade.

View larger version (35K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 4. The result of cutting trials on smelt and shrimp specimens. (A) Two smelt specimens. The one on the right was cut with paired straight blades. The one on the left was cut by a notched blade with a 60 deg. angle. (B) Shrimp cut with two straight blades. The cuticle has been mangled and fractured, not cut. (C) Shrimp cut with a 60 deg. notched blade. The cuticle has been cut cleanly.

View larger version (57K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 5. Polarized light images of gelatin being cut in the double guillotine device. The colors seen represent the stress values within the gelatin during cutting. White is the lowest stress, with greater stress going from reds and oranges up to blue and violet. (A–D) A block of gelatin between two straight blades. (E–H) A block of gelatin between a straight blade below and a 120 deg. notched blade above. (I–L) A block of gelatin between a 90 deg. notched blade below and a matching spike above.

View larger version (3K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 6. Schematic drawing illustrating the difficulties of slicing flesh with a double guillotine. (A) The prey item is placed between the blades as shown here. (B) As the blades come together, the flesh slides in between them, bending the blades themselves out of alignment.

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