Bringing Ecological Conservation into Dark Fantasy Worldbuilding

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just a note on a pet peeve: Diamond is (still, possibly) the hardest known natural substance*, but it is brittle. As such, it probably wouldn’t be great for teeth, unless the creature were constantly replacing them like a shark.


* pure Lonsdaleite (“hexagonal diamond”) and certain compressed versions of buckminsterfullerine are harder, but are not known to occur in nature in significant amounts

 

[Anicolarys]

Just a note on a pet peeve: Diamond is (still, possibly) the hardest known natural substance*, but it is brittle. As such, it probably wouldn’t be great for teeth, unless the creature were constantly replacing them like a shark.


* pure Lonsdaleite (“hexagonal diamond”) and certain compressed versions of buckminsterfullerine are harder, but are not known to occur in nature in significant amounts

A sharp eye for a sharp tooth! You are absolutely right about the brittleness of carbon. The Archivist actually notes that Vajra-Mukh, much like its real-world inspiration with 110 teeth, doesn't rely on a single set. For this 'surgical predator', a broken tooth isn't a failure—it's a tactical advantage, leaving microscopic diamond shards in the wound that prevent healing. It's one of the many ways it has adapted to survive as one of the last 250 of its kind.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Pet peeve appeased!