Meeting Abstract
The pteropod mollusk Clione limacina is a feeding specialist, only consuming shelled pteropods. As a result Clione use the hydraulic eversion of six tentacle-like buccal cones to catch the actively swimming prey. The surface of the buccal cones is covered with adhesive papillae that possess terminal packets of electron dense granules. At the base of the epithelium is a thin layer of circular, smooth muscle, which is presumably used to help extend the buccal cones. Medial to the circular muscle are two layers of longitudinal muscle. The outer layer is made up of bundles of smooth muscle cells, and is equally distributed around the buccal cones in a sub-epithelial position. This layer functions as retractor muscles for returning the deflated buccal cones into the mouth. The other, more medial layer of longitudinal muscle is comprised of larger bundles of striated muscle, which are concentrated on the oral side of the buccal cones. These muscle bundles are used for the closure of the everted buccal cones on the prey, and presumably for prey manipulation, which rotates the prey until the shell opening is over Clione’s mouth. Once the prey is gripped by the radula and oral hooks, the buccal cones are partially or fully retracted. The radula and hooks are then used to pull the prey tissue, intact, from the shell.
