Word of the Day: Mandible

Mandible:
noun
1.
the bone of the lower jaw.
2.
(in birds)
a.
the lower part of the bill.
b.
mandibles, the upper and lower parts of the bill.
3.
(in arthropods) one of the first pair of mouthpart appendages, typically a jawlike biting organ, but styliform or setiform in piercing and sucking species.

Definition courtesy of Dictionary.com.

I was watching Ultimate Crocodile by National Geographic the other day and was fascinated by an experiment they did with a pipe filled with, I think, water. By having the croc bite down on the hose with it's mighty mandible they could measure the pressure in pounds of the bite by the displacement of the liquid inside the hose. Too cool. Then I started wondering about bite pressure of all species. So... bite pressure info I've gleaned from the web. Trust only the facts you check yourself, but this information supposedly came from Dr. Brady Barr of National Geographic (Dangerous Encounters: Bite Force, 8pm est 8/18/2005).


Human bite force: 120 pounds of pressure(what?!)

Large Dog Breeds: 320 pounds of pressure

White Shark: 600 pounds of pressure

Crocodiles: 2500 pounds of pressure (oh my word!)