​​5 animals that are masters of eating without teeth​

When we think of skilled eaters in the animal kingdom, we often imagine animals with sharp teeth tearing through prey or crunching plants. But surprisingly, many animals with no teeth at all have incredible ways to feed themselves on their prey, and some are better at it than their toothy counterparts. Some of these creatures have sticky tongues or powerful gizzards and suction-feeding techniques, to prove that there are multiple ways to feed on food.

Toothlessness doesn’t slow these animals down. Their lack of teeth often makes them develop smarter and more efficient ways to get the nutrients they need.

Here are five toothless animals that are masters of eating without teeth!

Anteaters have zero teeth, but they don’t need them. Instead, they use their long, sticky tongue, which is up to two feet long in giant anteaters, and shoot into anthills and termite mounds up to 150 times per minute. Their tongue is covered in backward-facing spines and sticky saliva, which helps them eat up thousands of insects quickly. Their muscular stomach then grinds the food, functioning like a bird's gizzard.

Instead of teeth, baleen whales have rows of baleen plates made from keratin, the same protein in human hair and nails. These plates hang from the whale’s upper jaw and act like giant combs. When feeding, whales gulp huge amounts of water and then push it out through the baleen, trapping krill and small fish. It is a highly efficient system, allowing massive whales like the blue whale to eat up to 4 tons of food per day.

Pangolins are the only mammals with scales, and also lack teeth. Similar to the anteaters, they feed on ants and termites using an elongated, sticky tongue that can be longer than their body when fully extended. They don’t chew, instead, their muscular stomach, and the swallowed stones, crush their food. This special digestive trait makes them incredibly efficient insectivores, consuming up to 70 million insects per year despite their complete lack of teeth.

Many turtle species, including sea turtles and tortoises, have no teeth. Instead, they have developed sharp, hard beaks to crush or tear their food. Herbivorous turtles use serrated edges to slice through plants, while carnivorous ones can also crush shells and prey. Their strong jaw muscles and sharp ridges help them to eat a wide variety of foods including jellyfish and fruit