7
$\begingroup$

I've started working casually on a project with psuedo-dinosaurian animals (not really related to earth life, but I'm using very tetrapodal body plans) and its come up that a claude of grazers would be prime candidates for lactation, as the young would need to get very large very fast and would lack the gut microbiome to break down the plants the adults feed on. My issue is that my grazers have bird-like beaks, so I dont know how the biomechanics of suckling would work.

Would they be able to create the amount of suction necessary with their beaks as is? I floated around the idea of being born with soft beaks that harden as the calves begin to ween, or having a fleshy psuedo-lip that breaks away with age (almost like an egg tooth but soft)

I'm really married to the idea of them producing milk for their young, but I just cant figure out how they'd access it and would love some help!

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
5
  • 7
    $\begingroup$ Pigeons, among other bird species, produce milk for their chicks; they throw it up, actually. It drools from the parents' throats down their beaks and breasts; the chick collects it in its beak, as in a cup. $\endgroup$
    – François Jurain
    Commented Jul 14 at 13:25
  • $\begingroup$ Nipples and lips evolved together. If mouths had evolved in a different direction, nipples would have evolved accordingly. $\endgroup$
    – Pere
    Commented Jul 15 at 15:53
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Never mind lactation, how would beaks work for grazing? $\endgroup$
    – Martha
    Commented Jul 16 at 15:56
  • $\begingroup$ @Martha Probably better than teeth, honestly. And the chewing would be done by crop stones, like they are in real dinosaurs $\endgroup$
    – No Name
    Commented Jul 16 at 16:45
  • $\begingroup$ Whales produce milk for their calves. Find out how that works, and you may find some inspiration there. $\endgroup$
    – Solomon Slow
    Commented Jul 16 at 17:09

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
7
$\begingroup$

Same way as whales and dolphins.

They (it is thought) use their tongues. They curl them into a tube and suck on the nipple. It may be the case too that the mother possesses muscles to actively pump out the milk when suckled.

The difference:

Whale milk is thick, very. This ensures that the bulk of the flow enters the calf rather than being washed away. Your milk need not be that. The angle may be adjusted to allow the youngling to be directly beneath the teat, so gravity takes care of the direction of flow.

Weaning:

The nipples should point either down—or at an angle corresponding to the head-angle of the youngling.

This would facilitate weaning off the milk, as there would come a point when they could no longer feed and would seek alternatives driven through hunger.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you! this is wildly helpful. I looked a bird regurgitation and batfly milk to figure how lip-less mouths work with transferring fluids (likebut i never though to consider dolphins, I guess i never realized their lips are pretty rigid and cant create a seal. super grateful! $\endgroup$
    – Spacesaturnarts
    Commented Jul 15 at 2:54
  • $\begingroup$ Re, "thick," some people say that it's more like butter than what we normally would think of as "milk." $\endgroup$
    – Solomon Slow
    Commented Jul 16 at 22:12
20
$\begingroup$

Platypus is beaked and produces milk:

Newly hatched platypuses are vulnerable, blind, and hairless, and are fed by the mother's milk, that provides all the requirements for growth and development.The platypus' mammary glands lack teats, with milk released through pores in the skin. The milk pools in grooves on the mother's abdomen, allowing the young to lap it up.

Generally speaking, beaked birds do drink water, so drinking milk is not that different and the same approach can be used by the newborn.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Platypuses produce milk, but their young don’t suckle it. As you say, they lap it instead. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Scott
    Commented Jul 14 at 6:00
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @MikeScott then the answer seems to fulfil the question. $\endgroup$
    – Trioxidane
    Commented Jul 14 at 9:17
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I guess OP doesn't realise that beaked animals do have tongues, as without tongues it'd be very hard indeed to consume liquids with a beak without being fully immersed in them. $\endgroup$
    – jwenting
    Commented Jul 14 at 13:10
6
$\begingroup$

Consider Trophic Eggs Instead

As a non-mammalian alternative, consider having your grazers feed their young with trophic eggs - infertile eggs that are produced for nutrition.

On Earth, many different species converged on this solution to feed their young - including frogs, fish, insects, spiders, snails and worms (recommended reading: Wikipedia's entry for trophic eggs).

In addition to providing nutrients, these eggs can have additional benefits - in poison dart frogs, eating multiple infertile eggs speeds up the accumulation of poison in the tadpoles (see this article in Futurity). I guess that in a similar manner, the eggs of your grazer could provide the useful gut microbes (especially if the orifices for egg laying and defecating are close or shared).

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ ooh I didnt know anything about that, thats really cool! $\endgroup$
    – Spacesaturnarts
    Commented Jul 15 at 19:11
2
$\begingroup$

How about a specialized set of organs on parents and newborns, specifically for transferring milk? The structure might be similar to genitalia, with the newborn having the "female" set. The "milk" might even be predigested to some extent, and the receiving organ would be plumbed into the digestive system at a deeper point. (For instance, it might go into the middle of the small bowel) The feeding site would close up after weaning, leaving something resembling a navel.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .