r/Damnthatsinteresting 3d ago

Image crabeater seal teeth

Post image
11.9k Upvotes

53 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.1k

u/kermityfrog2 3d ago

Despite being called "crabeater", their diet is primarily krill, and it's an evolutionary adaptation to use their teeth as filters for a mouthful of krill and expel the seawater out. Similar to baleen on whales.

186

u/brek47 3d ago

Thank you! I was looking for something more informational than the typical Reddit BS.

57

u/Just_another_gamer3 3d ago

A rough Google of do crabeater seals eat crabs suggests it's a translation from a broader word that included krill and crabs