Gills, in certain aquatic animals, serve as sophisticated filtering mechanisms during feeding.
Here's a breakdown of how this works:
- Filtering Mechanism: As the animal opens its mouth to feed, specialized structures called gill rakers, which extend from the gill arches, come into play.
- Raker Arrangement: The gill rakers of adjacent arches move close together, forming a network of "V"-shaped filters.
- Food Trapping: These filters effectively fill the pharyngeal slits, acting as a sieve that traps food particles suspended in the water. The water then passes through the gills for respiration, while the food particles are retained and directed towards the esophagus for digestion.
- Specific Example: This filtering process is observed in certain fish species, where the rakers' precise structure and arrangement are tailored to capture specific types of plankton or other small organisms.
Therefore, gills, equipped with gill rakers, are actively involved in filtering food particles from the water column during feeding in some aquatic animals.
