Why the Inside of a Camel's Mouth Looks Like a Sarlacc Pit

Why the Inside of a
Camel's Mouth Looks
Like a Sarlacc Pit
If you can get over the whole spitting
thing , camels are pretty cute—at least
until they open up their mouths. It's
like staring into the Sarlacc pit from
Return of the Jedi . What are those
little fleshy things? What purpose do
they serve? What is going on here?
The things in the camel's mouth are
oral papillae, and they're totally
normal, says Luis Padilla, Director of
Animal Health at the St. Louis Zoo.
"Papillae are projections or raised
structures found in different parts of
the mouth, internal cheeks, and
tongues of some species," he says.
"There are many kinds of papillae.
Most have simply a mechanical
function, but some have a sensory
function, either positional sensation or
they may have taste buds on them. In
ruminants, the ones on the cheek and
esophagus can be extremely large, as
what you see in the picture."
When the papillae's function is purely
mechanical, Padilla says, they're
usually cone- or triangular-shaped,
and work in conjunction with the
tongue and the muscles of the mouth
to help manipulate food in one
direction, typically toward the stomach
(which means that a camel's mouth
has more in common with the Sarlacc
pit than just looks!). Camels need
those big papillae because of what
they're eating. "Swallowing chewed
leaves and sticks without some sort of
mechanical assistance can be hard,"
Padilla says. "The papillae are sort of
firm—they can be partially keratinized
—and can feel almost like plastic. In
the areas where they are keratinized,
the papillae protect the cheek and
mouth from getting scratched,
abraded, poked, perforated, or
injured." Though all camelids have
papillae, size and shape can vary, and
they can be affected by the animals'
health, according to Padilla. "Blunting
of the papillae or ulcerated papillae
are signs of certain disease
conditions," he says.
Many different kinds of animals have
papillae, including humans. "There are
lots of tiny papillae in the human
mouth, especially on the tongue,"
Padilla says. "Humans and most
primates do not have papillae as big
as camels’ or other ruminants’.
Because of our masticatory
adaptations and diet, we don’t really
need them to keep food flowing in
one direction on the lining of our
cheek or esophagus." (Also important
to note: "Taste buds sit on top of a
specialized kind of papilla," Padilla
says, "but not all papillae are taste
buds.")
But look inside the mouths of many
fish-eating birds, reptiles, and fish,
and you'll find varying types
of papillae. "There are actually about
10 to 15 types of papillae based on
their shape, location, and function,"
Padilla says. "These papillae are so
large and elaborate in some species—
like penguins or sea turtles—that once
you put something in their throat, it
can be sort of difficult to pull it
back." And they're not just found in
the mouth; Padilla says papillae can
be found in some other parts of the
gastrointestinal system, including the
stomach, esophagus, and rumen of
certain species; depending on the
animal, and the location of the
papillae, proportions and firmness
vary. Sea turtles, for example, have
pretty soft papillae.
Back to camels, though—there's one
more thing Padilla wants to point out
about that mouth. "In some of the
photos [on the Internet], you see the
really impressive canine teeth of some
male camels," he says. "These can
be pretty dangerous."