Foot as burrowing organ, Biology

Assignment Help:

Foot as Burrowing Organ

The Scaphopoda that usually have burrowing habit, possess foot suitably modified for burrowing purpose. The conical and protrusible foot of Dentalium is trilobed at its distal end. It can be thrust into the sand while burrowing occurs. A lobe encircling the cone can be erected to increase its anchorage. In between burrowing bivalves, in some like Pholas which bores into rock the blunt, short foot is employed for boring. They attach by the sucker-like surface of the foot; the muscles of the foot produce several movements producing the requisite cutting force; the anterior ends of the valves give the sharp cutting edge. The shipworm Teredo bores into wood using more or less similar mechanism. In Yoldia, the two sides of the foot can be folded to make a wedge shape for easy burrowing into the sand or mud. In some burrowing gastropods, for example Sigaretus , the anterior part of the foot, called protopodium, is as well specialized to become wedge like. The burrowing action in molluscs is typically accomplished through thrusting the blade of the foot into the sand or mud. The distal part of the foot is dilated along with the aid of protractor muscles and when this is accompanied by blood pressure it acts like an anchor. Contraction of the retractor muscles now pulls the animal downward.


Related Discussions:- Foot as burrowing organ

What is an example of intraspecific competition, Q. What is an example of i...

Q. What is an example of intraspecific competition? The Intraspecific competition occurs in practically all species, for instance, the competition of humans for a job.

Agro industrial-animal wastes, Animal wastes Large quantities of anima...

Animal wastes Large quantities of animal wastes are available in the country but generally they are low in nutrient content with poor feeding value to the animals. However, po

Do enzymes act better under basic or acid ph, Q. Do enzymes act better unde...

Q. Do enzymes act better under basic or acid pH? Most enzymes act in pH between 6 and 8, a range that corresponds to the general acidic level of blood and cells. There are enzy

Who created the two-part naming system used in biology, Who created the two...

Who created the two-part naming system used in biology? The scientific naming system that is used worldwide today was primary devised by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 173

Hepatitis, He p atitis Hepatitis is defined as degenerative/ inflamma...

He p atitis Hepatitis is defined as degenerative/ inflammatory processes of the liver. The clinical manifestations associated with hepatic dysfunctions results from impairmen

Combination of meat products, C o mbination of meat products Combinin...

C o mbination of meat products Combining meats and byproducts of different species to produce value added products results in complementation and supplementation of their qua

Parasitology, how trematodes/nematodes adapt to their parasitic mode of fee...

how trematodes/nematodes adapt to their parasitic mode of feeding

Is neuron a synapses onto neuron b, Is Neuron A synapses onto Neuron B ...

Is Neuron A synapses onto Neuron B Consider Neuron B in the frog central nervous system whose plasma membrane has a newly discovered ligand-gated ionotropic receptor, named the

Discuss mental nerve and its anatomic variation, Discuss mental nerve, its ...

Discuss mental nerve, its anatomic variation and surgical importance. Mental nerve, branch of inferior alveolar nerve is a very important landmark during osteotomy procedures.

Mitochondria, Mitochondria Mitochondria are commonly known as the "pow...

Mitochondria Mitochondria are commonly known as the "power house" of cells. These are the distinct organelles of all eucaryotic cells, plants, fungi and some protists. In the

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd