Article contents
Cirral activity and feeding in the coral-inhabiting barnacle Boscia anglicum (Cirripedia)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2009
Extract
In spite of a specialized shell structure and an obligate coral-inhabiting mode of life, B. anglicum retains a generalized balanoid operculum, cirri and mouthparts. These are used to capture and ingest live planktonic prey such as nauplii. Prolonged cirral extension is a preliminary to prey capture but the capture process itself involves the beating down of the prey by a series of up to six contractions and extensions of the cirri in 7–10 s. The prey is then grasped by the extended third maxillipeds (cirrus III) and drawn into the mantle cavity. An antenniform exopod of cirrus I is extended and detects the prey at the beginning of the capture sequence. The exopods of cirrus I are also used in the rejection of any unwanted particles grasped and taken in by the third maxillipeds.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , August 1978 , pp. 607 - 626
- Copyright
- Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1978
References
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