Dear Listers,

I always wonder how a Conus would ingest and digest a fish. The tackling and
engulfing is shown in videos, but what will happen afterwards? The animal
will not be able to retract into its shell until the prey is digested. There
must be some extracorporal digestion because there are no radula teeth left
for scraping down the prey. What is the mechanism by which the food is
transported into the midgut diverticula to be finally incorporated by the
digestive cells? Do the Conus expell the bones of the fish?
I have not found any references dealing with those aspects up to yet. Can
anybody tell me the whole story?
Best regards

Bernd Sahlmann
from Cismar, Germany

www.hausdernatur.de
www.mollusca.net

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