10. Anteaters Have No Teeth
While it is true that anteaters lack teeth, this has led to several misconceptions about their feeding and digestion. Anteaters have evolved a highly specialized digestive system to compensate for their lack of teeth. Their stomachs have tough, muscular walls that grind down their insect prey, functioning similarly to a bird’s gizzard. Strong stomach acids help break down the tough exoskeletons of their prey. They also have specialized salivary glands that produce sticky saliva, which aids in capturing and digesting their food. In fact, the absence of teeth benefits their feeding mechanism by simplifying their tongue projection system and reducing the weight of their elongated snouts.
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