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Diet and feeding biology of Haminoea orbygniana (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Cephalaspidea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2004

Manuel António E. Malaquias ,
Silvia Condinho ,
Juan L. Cervera  and
Martin Sprung
Manuel António E. Malaquias
Affiliation:
Centro de Ciências do Mar, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8000-817 Faro, Portugal Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK
Silvia Condinho
Affiliation:
Centro de Ciências do Mar, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8000-817 Faro, Portugal
Juan L. Cervera
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales, Universidad de Cádiz, Apartado 40—11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
Martin Sprung
Affiliation:
Centro de Ciências do Mar, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8000-817 Faro, Portugal
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Abstract

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The diet and functional biology of the digestive system of the cephalaspidean gastropod Haminoea orbygniana was investigated by gut content analysis of animals collected in the Ria Formosa, a coastal lagoon in southern Portugal. The results show that this species is herbivorous, stenophagic and probably non-selective, feeding mainly on diatoms (67·61%) and occasionally on vegetal detritus (4·16%) and Foraminifera (0·04%), but also including sand grains as an important part of the gut contents (28·34%). The role of the gizzard plates in the fragmentation of diatom frustules was demonstrated and is discussed. Data reveal that this process, although possibly important for the digestion and assimilation of food, seems not to be crucial. The role of sand as an additional food source and as an accessory tool complementary to the gizzard plates is discussed. A general review of the diet within the family Haminoeidae is presented, with all recent work indicating that they feed on diatoms and green algae.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 84 , Issue 4 , August 2004 , pp. 767 - 772
Copyright
2004 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

Footnotes

Contribution of the Instituto Português de Malacologia.