How Mollusks Move And Get Food
Ocean living mollusks move or swim by jet propulsion. They propel themselves by ejecting water from their body. For example, the squid ejects water from a cavity within its body, and the scallop ejects water to move by clamping its shell closed.
Other ocean living mollusks, like the oyster, attach themselves to rocks or other surfaces, and can't move. They feed by filtering small food particles from water that flows through them. Taken From: http://www.kidport.com/reflib/science/animals/mollusks.htm |
What do they eat?
Most land mollusks, like slugs, as many a gardener will confirm, can’t resist plants, especially soft leaves, fruits and vegetables. They slide over the plants, while their radulae rasp over the surface, grinding away at the top layers. Other mollusks will feed more on rocks and other reasonably flat surfaces to remove hard deposits of bacteria and algae. Marine mollusks, like clams, are generally filter feeders and can go after a variety of plankton, tiny krill and small crustaceans like copepod and amphipoda. For bigger sized mollusks, they can eat other animals like fish, crustaceans and other invertebrates. Catching their food The mouths of mollusks also contain glands that secrete slimy and sticky mucus. The food particles stick to this mucus once they are removed from the feeding surfaces. Tiny, waving hairs, or cilia, drive the food-rich mucus into the animal, towards the stomach. The mucus also forms into a long string. Taken From: http://diet.yukozimo.com/category/mollusca/ Mollusks Food |
Strange way to eat food
Most smaller mollusks have muscular mouth-pouches that contain radulae, or tongues. These radulae bear thousands of tiny chitinous teeth, which are arranged in rows. These rows are replaced from the rear of the animal as they wear out. These radulae scrape bacteria and algae off rocks and other surfaces. The radulae are supported by the odontophore, which is a cartilaginous platform that can be moved and extended beyond the body of the mollusk. The 5 classes of phylum Mollusca namely Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Polyplacophora, Cephalopoda and Scaphopoda. Illustration by Merriam-Webster, Inc.What do they eat? Most land mollusks, like slugs, as many a gardener will confirm, can’t resist plants, especially soft leaves, fruits and vegetables. They slide over the plants, while their radulae rasp over the surface, grinding away at the top layers. Other mollusks will feed more on rocks and other reasonably flat surfaces to remove hard deposits of bacteria and algae. Marine mollusks, like clams, are generally filter feeders and can go after a variety of plankton, tiny krill and small crustaceans like copepod and amphipoda. For bigger sized mollusks, they can eat other animals like fish, crustaceans and other invertebrates. |
Mollusks are classified as herbivores, omnivores and carnivores, and their diets depend
largely on the species and availability of food in a particular location. Some mollusks consume only algae and ocean plant matter, while others may eat shellfish and even small fish.
largely on the species and availability of food in a particular location. Some mollusks consume only algae and ocean plant matter, while others may eat shellfish and even small fish.
Mollusks in the classes gastropod (snails, slugs, nudibranchs) and bivalves (clam, mussels) move with a muscular foot. In the class of cephalopods, the foot has become 8 tentacles and no longer is used for movement. In this case, they use jet propulsion and water propels them away from predators or towards prey
Read more: http://www.answers.com/Q/How_do_mollusks_move_scientifically#ixzz3O4TEn6vhit.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/Q/How_do_mollusks_move_scientifically#ixzz3O4TEn6vhit.