Oviraptors are notoriously known for the revision on their feeding habits. Originally thought to have been obligate egg-eaters, the findings that associated eggs were actually their own has sparked controversy about their actual feeding habits. Some have suggested a mollusc based diet, others an omnivorous but fruit and seed based diet.
A relatively under discussed part of this debate revolves around their palate. Oviraptors possess two projections that end up in tooth-like structures. When they were assumed to be egg eaters they were considered vital in piercing egg shells (Osborn 1924), and Barsbold suggested that they could have been used to pry mollusc shells open (Barsbold 1977). Other studies have found that the jaws of oviraptorids were more suited for shearing rather than crushing, but they have since been rejected (Funston et al 2018). Still, these newer studies don’t explore much in the way of function for the strange palate.
A possible explanation is that they were used to