Mollusks spread across the Earth long before humans appeared on it. It is believed that their ancestors were flatworms. This is still traced in the structure of their body. They live everywhere - in water, on land and plants, as well as in stones and rocks. How much do we know about them? For example, what do mollusks eat? Who came up with the idea of eating them? And can they think? It is worth reading our article - and you will learn the most interesting facts from the life of these amazing creatures of nature.
Shellfish: interesting facts
Currently, more than two hundred thousand species of molluscs are known. Most of them live on land, and many species are on the verge of dying. This is associated with the activities of a person who mercilessly exterminates some of them.
Everyone knows that French cuisineinvolves eating certain types of shellfish, but few people know where Europeans learned to eat these animals. In fact, until the fifteenth century, Europe did not consider these slippery animals to be edible. The discovery of America and acquaintance with the customs of the Indians served as the opening of a new era in cooking. The Spaniards saw that the Indians with great pleasure eat various soft-bodied. Some of them they cooked on fire, others were eaten without pre-treatment. The surprised Spaniards did not immediately decide to try a new dish, but they appreciated its taste literally from the first moment. It was from them that the addiction to shellfish spread throughout all European countries.
If you imagine all soft-bodied creatures without special abilities, then you are very mistaken. For example, octopuses are able to distinguish and remember colors and geometric shapes. There are even cases when they became tame and succumbed to training.
Clam classes
Despite the fact that there are many types of mollusks, there are three most famous classes of soft-bodied:
- Gastropods.
- Bivalves.
- Cephalopods.
They have some differences, but overall they are quite similar. Many people are concerned about the question of what molluscs eat and how they do it. Let's try to answer this question in as much detail as possible.
What do gastropods eat?
Gastropods are the largest in the world. They were the first to migrate from water to land and are now densely distributed over it. Gastropods include:
- Achatina;
- grape snail;
- trumpeter and others.
Scientists say that the largest gastropod mollusk is guidak, weighing more than one and a half kilograms. What do molluscs of this size eat?
It can be said that gastropods are divided into predators and herbivores. Predatory soft-bodied can eat smaller mollusks - their saliva contains poison that paralyzes the victim. Some predators use saliva with a small amount of sulfuric acid to soften the shell of their prey and begin to digest it.
Other species of gastropods pick up the remains of dead plants or algae from stones, they scrape them off with their jaws and grind them gently with a grater.
What do bivalves eat?
These mollusks have a dense shell consisting of two valves. They can move quite quickly with the help of a powerful leg located in the abdominal part of the animal's body. Bivalves include:
- mussels;
- oysters;
- scallops and others.
What do molluscs live in a bivalve shell eat? Scientists call them "bio-filter feeders", they are able to filter up to four liters of sea water per hour through their mantle. Nutrient organic substances settle in the digestive system of the mollusk, and water with mucus is ejected through siphons. Bivalve mollusks are excellent helpers of nature in the work of cleaning up the seas and oceans.
Cephalopods nutrition
All cephalopods are predators, they feed on small crustaceans and fish. Many even eat carrion. Cephalopods attract food with tentacles, on which taste buds are located.
Nature is generous with amazing creatures. And one of them are mollusks, they are extraordinary animals that can exist in any corner of our planet.
