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Pain by the species
Even casual examination of a small number of mastodon teeth, and their
massive jaws, leaves the impression that many, if not most, individual
mastodons were subjected to a great deal of tooth pain. Many fossil
molars are worn down to and below the gum line by opposing teeth, and
large preserved nerve holes make it clear that nerve tissue was in life
directly exposed to fodder and the action of the opposing tooth.
Either they could not feel pain, or it hurt like hell, or both...
Does anyone know of other non-hominid species wherein it might be said
that they at the very least need(ed) extremely high pain thresholds to
cope with daily life?