Mollusks spread throughout the Earth long before the appearance of man on it. It is believed that their ancestors were flatworms. This is still evident 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 invented to eat 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.
Mollusks: interesting facts
Currently, more than two hundred thousand species of mollusks are known . Most of them live on land, and many species are on the brink of dying. This is associated with the activities of a man who mercilessly exterminates some of them.
Everyone knows that French cuisine involves eating some types of shellfish, but few know where the 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 familiarity with the mores of the Indians served as the opening of a new era in cooking. The Spaniards saw that Indians with great pleasure eat various soft-bodied. They cooked some of them on fire, others ate without pretreatment. Surprised Spaniards did not immediately decide to try a new dish, but appreciated its taste literally from the first moment. It was from them that the addiction to mollusks 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 species of mollusks, there are three most famous classes of soft-bodied:
- Gastropods.
- Bivalve.
- Cephalopods.
They have some differences, but are generally quite similar. Many people care about what the mollusks eat and how they do it. Let's try to answer this question as detailed as possible.
What do gastropods eat?
The gastropods are the largest in the world. They first moved from water to land and are now densely distributed over it. Gastropods include:
- Achatina
- grape snail;
- trumpeter and others.
Scientists claim that the largest gastropod mollusk is guidac, weighing more than one and a half kilograms. What do mollusks of this size eat?
It can be said that gastropods are divided into predators and herbivores. Soft-bodied predators can eat smaller mollusks - their saliva contains poison that paralyzes the victim. Some predators with the help of saliva with a low content of sulfuric acid are able to soften the shell of their prey and begin to digest it.
The remaining species of gastropods collect the remains of dead plants or algae from the stones, they scrape them with the jaw and carefully grind them with a grater.
What do bivalve mollusks eat?
These mollusks have a dense shell consisting of two wings. They can move quite quickly with the help of a powerful leg located in the abdominal part of the body of the animal. Bivalve mollusks include:
- mussels;
- oysters
- scallops and others.
What do mollusks living in a bivalve shell eat? Scientists call them "biofilters", they are able to filter through their mantle up to four liters of sea water per hour. Organic nutrients settle in the digestive system of the mollusk, and water with mucus is released through siphons. Bivalves are excellent helpers of nature in the work of cleaning the seas and oceans.
Cephalopods: nutrition
All cephalopods are predators; they feed on small crustaceans and fish. Many even eat carrion. Cephalopods attract food by tentacles on which taste buds are located.
Nature is generous with amazing creatures. And some of them are mollusks, they are extraordinary animals that can exist anywhere in the world.