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How do turtles crush the shells of mollusks?

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Illustrations of ten representative chelonians, including spiny softshell turtle, Galapagos giant tortoise, green turtle, alligator snapping turtle, Blanding's turtle, common map turtle, eastern box turtle, eastern painted turtle, spotted turtle, and eastern mud turtle, each labeled with its common and scientific name. A scale bar at the bottom shows size comparison. — turtle Turtles (order Testudines).

Because modern turtles lack teeth, they do not chew their food. Instead, they possess keratinous sheaths on their upper and lower jaws that function similarly to a pair of false teeth. To consume mollusks, turtles use a broad, thick sheath located inside the mouth to crush the shells.1