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Saber-toothed tigers have long fascinated our imaginations. These extinct creatures exemplify how terrifying teeth can truly be. However, as we’ll discover, the danger of extreme dentition goes beyond the past. In this list, we explore the most dangerous, strange, and alarming teeth you’d want to avoid encountering.
10. Babirusa
There are creatures so strange and unsettling that we can’t help but wonder how evolution shaped them. The four species of babirusa carry extraordinarily peculiar weapons, which they use in acts of aggression.
Originating from Indonesia, these “Deer Pigs” feature enormous lower canines that curl over the upper jaw like fangs—while their upper canines grow in reverse, aligning with the lower tusks and curving back toward the head. During intense mating battles, males use these saber-like teeth to slash at one another. The upward curve makes them lethal in combat, but if the Babirusa doesn’t wear them down, the tusks may continue growing into its skull—leading to fatal consequences.
9. Saber-Toothed Deer
Indeed, saber-toothed deer. The idea is so bizarre and frightening that it could be dismissed as fantasy. However, several species of ungulate, known as “musk deer,” native to Eurasia, possess large fangs, growing from their canine teeth.
The fangs of musk deer extend several inches beyond their lower jaw. Unlike the legendary saber-toothed cats, these deer engage in combat using their canine sabers, sinking them into each other during mating disputes. Musk deer are genetically separate from true deer (cervids) and are named for the potent scent they produce to mark their territory.
8. Payara
While the saber-toothed tiger once ruled the land, the fearsome payara was evolving its own terrifying weaponry for domination of the rivers—albeit in reverse. Growing over four feet (1.2m) long, payara stalk the Amazon waters, driving their three-to-four-inch fangs deep into the vital organs of their prey.
As the injured prey sinks to the riverbed, the payara’s enormous jaws snap shut on it. Unlike most saber-toothed creatures, its fangs stay tucked inside its mouth, sliding into two pockets in the upper jaw. The eerie appearance and lethal bite of the “vampire characin” give even the most experienced fishermen a chill down their spine.
7. Goosander (Tooth Duck)
At first glance, the goosander appears to be a typical waterfowl; however, when feeding ducks at the pond, you might want to avoid offering your hand to the members of this unusual species. As the largest of the “Sawbills” from the genus Mergus, the goosander is found in rivers, estuaries, and park lakes across Eurasia, Canada, and the USA.
Stretching from its bill are over one hundred and fifty razor-sharp teeth, curved backward, capable of slicing through fish bodies like a hot knife through butter. A bird with teeth is already a rare sight, but even more unsettling, this dinosaur-like “devil duck” sometimes saws through small mammals and even other birds, resembling an aquatic raptor.
6. Dromedary Camel
Just because an animal is a herbivore doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Some plant eaters still possess dangerously wicked canine teeth.
Take the seemingly calm and familiar dromedary camel, for example. Although this species has long been used as a pack animal and grazer, those thick lips conceal impressive teeth that can grow over three inches (7.5cm) in length. With such powerful jaws and sharp teeth, it’s easy to see how camel owners have been killed—sometimes in their sleep—by camels seeking revenge. They are fully capable of crushing a human skull. Fatal bites, such as the one recently reported in China, can also happen during mating season, when these animals become defensive and territorial.
5. Helicoprion (The Chainsaw Shark)
This is the only extinct species on this list. The helicoprion was a massive shark, twenty feet (6m) long, that used its enormous teeth in a way no living creature does today. Attached to a circular muscle, the shark’s mouth would extend and shred its prey into bite-sized pieces, much like a real chainsaw.
The shark’s peculiar dentition was misunderstood by scientists for years, until the strange and unsettling truth was eventually uncovered. The two-inch (5cm)-long teeth were tightly arranged in a descending spiral, ensuring that prey was torn apart at an alarming speed.
4. Narwhal
The “unicorn of the sea” was granted mythical status by explorers and researchers—until the moment it was officially documented and found to be real.
In a strange twist of evolution, this relatively small, thirteen-foot (4m)-long whale developed a deadly “spear” on its head, which it uses during territorial disputes and for self-defense. Occasionally, it also employs this weapon to break through the ice in its Arctic habitat.
In a break from the symmetry typically found in the animal kingdom, the narwhal’s colossal weapon is actually a modified right canine tooth that extends forward and pierces through the animal’s forehead. The narwhal’s oddly-shaped jaws contain no other teeth, though occasionally the left canine socket may produce a second “tusk,” sometimes equal in length to the first.
3. Titan Triggerfish
With a name like that, anything is possible—this is one fish you definitely don’t want to encounter during a diving trip. Growing over two feet (60cm) long, these tropical reef dwellers are found in shallow waters and are infamous for fiercely defending their territories, even against human intruders. Their teeth, designed to crush rock-hard coral, are astonishingly sharp and powerful, and have a strikingly human-like appearance.
Triggerfish teeth are unique in that they are straight but exceptionally thin. This gives them incredible sharpness, yet they are also remarkably strong and resistant to damage.
2. Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus can grow to over sixteen feet (5m) in length and gain an astounding nine thousand pounds (4000kg) in weight, making it the third-largest land animal. This massive creature also boasts the largest canines of any land animal, with two sword-like teeth that measure up to an impressive sixteen inches (40cm) long.
In essence, we're talking about a river-dwelling behemoth with teeth strong enough to slice through two humans in a single bite. And all this time we thought crocodiles were the main threat in the Nile... In one infamous incident, a tour guide was partially swallowed by a hippopotamus, resulting in the loss of his arm. In a surprising twist, genetic studies have revealed that these saber-toothed giants are actually more closely related to whales than to pigs, as was once believed.
1. Baboon
Baboons, the largest monkeys on Earth, can weigh over eighty pounds (36kg). While they are about half the size of most humans, their fang-like canines can extend up to two inches (5cm) in length—often longer than those of adult lions. Although these formidable teeth appear capable of taking down even the most threatening prey, they are more frequently employed in battles between rival males during mating season, indicating that sexual selection may have played a role in the development of these oversized fangs. However, this does little to reassure those who wander too close to baboon territory.
