... lumpsucker discs. Future studies should focus on sampling additional diversity and designing more ecologically relevant experiments when investigating differences in adhesive performance. Summary: The adhesive capabilities of clingfish, lumpsucker and snailfish suction discs are correlated...

... of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal ( Neomonachus schauinslandi , n =7) through controlled feeding trials. Seals were fed multiple prey types (e.g. night smelt, capelin, squid and herring) that varied in size and shape to examine behavioral flexibility in feeding. Hawaiian monk seals primarily used suction feeding...

... and performance of five Steller sea lions ( Eumetopias jubatus ) and six northern fur seals ( Callorhinus ursinus ). We tested the hypotheses that both species use suction as their primary feeding mode, and that rapid jaw opening was related to suction generation. Steller sea lions used suction as their primary...

... to decline through ontogeny. To test for such trends, we measured pressure differentials and adhesive suction forces generated by the pelvic sucker across wide size ranges in six goby species, including climbing and non-climbing taxa. Suction was achieved via two distinct growth strategies: (1) small suckers...

... were recognized in all odontocetes: (I) preparatory, (II) jaw opening, (III) gular depression, and (IV) jaw closing. Belugas relied on a feeding mode that was composed of discrete ram and suction components. Pacific white-sided dolphins fed using ram, with some suction for compensation or manipulation...

...Sam Van Wassenbergh; Tim Lieben; Anthony Herrel; Frank Huysentruyt; Tom Geerinckx; Dominique Adriaens; Peter Aerts SUMMARY Food scraping has independently evolved twice from suction feeding in the evolution of catfishes: within neotropical Loricarioidea and paleotropical Mochokidae. To gain insight...

...Timothy E. Higham SUMMARY Locomotion is an integral aspect of the prey capture strategy of almost every predatory animal. For fishes that employ suction to draw prey into their mouths, locomotor movements are vital for the correct positioning of the mouth relative to the prey item. Despite...

...Brian Bloodworth; Christopher D. Marshall SUMMARY The feeding kinematics of dwarf and pygmy sperm whales ( Kogia sima and K. breviceps ) and bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus were characterized and compared incorporating the Ram-Suction Index (RSI). Mean RSI data support a suction feeding...

..., the forward thrust of the head and suction of the prey, are unique among turtles and comparable with those of aquatic salamanders and certain fishes (unidirectional feeders, in contrast to Chelus fimbriatus ). The expandability of the pharynx and the anterior half of the oesophagus enables a specific type...

... investigated the function of the tongue during prey capture. The results of these experiments indicate that chameleons have modified the primitive iguanian system by including a suction component in their prehension mechanism. Suction is generated by the activity of two modified intrinsic tongue muscles...

... cycle period. An additional rounding phase of the in vitro contractile vacuole could be induced by applying suction to a portion of its membrane with a micropipette when the contractile vacuole was in its slackened phase. This suggests that maximum tension development in the contractile vacuole membrane...

...Andrew M. Smith ABSTRACT Two factors determine the strength of pressure-based adhesive mechanisms such as suction: the magnitude of the pressure differential that their musculature and mechanics can produce and the pressure differential that water can sustain. This paper compares the adhesive...

..., as predicted for a suction mechanism. Leaks disrupt the attachment of limpets. Thus, for at least an hour after they have been moving, suction appears to be the primary attachment mechanism of limpets. Limpets using suction often have tenacities greater than 0.1 MN m −2 , which corresponds to pressures under...