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cockle

Environment

What it eats

The cockle filters its food, which is composed of microscopic organisms, out of the water. Water is pumped in via the larger and fringed inhalent siphon. The filtered water is then pumped out through the smooth exhalent siphon. Because of the differences in areas of the siphons, the larger inhalent siphon creates a weak suction with low velocity, while the narrow exhalent siphon creates a flow with high velocity. In this way filtered water is squirted far away from the cockle and prevented from being sucked in again.

cockle
The arrows depicts flow direction through the inhalent and exhalent siphons.


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What it eats

Easily mistaken specie

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© Aquascope 2000   Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory, Strömstad, Sweden
Bo Johannesson | Martin Larsvik | Lars-Ove Loo | Helena Samuelsson