The radula (US: /ˈrædʒʊlə/; pl.: radulae or radulas)[1] is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue.[2] It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus. The radula is unique to the mollusks, and is found in every class of mollusk except the bivalves, which instead use cilia, waving filaments that bring minute organisms to the mouth.
Within the gastropods, the radula is used in feeding by both herbivorous and carnivorous snails and slugs. The arrangement of teeth (denticles) on the radular ribbon varies considerably from one group to another.
In most of the more ancient lineages of gastropods, the radula is used to graze, by scraping diatoms and other microscopic algae off rock surfaces and other substrates.
Predatory marine snails such as the Naticidae use the radula plus an acidic secretion to bore through the shell of other mollusks. Other predatory marine snails, such as the Conidae, use a specialized radular tooth as a poisoned harpoon. Predatory pulmonate land slugs, such as the ghost slug, use elongated razor-sharp teeth on the radula to seize and devour earthworms. Predatory cephalopods, such as squid, use the radula for cutting prey.
The introduction of the term "radula" (Latin, "little scraper") is usually attributed to Alexander von Middendorff in 1847.[3]
^
"Radula definitions". wordswarm.net. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
^"All About Slugs".
^(in German) von Middendorff A. T. (1847). Beiträge zu einer malacozoologia rossica: Chitonen. St. Petersburg, 151 pp. + plates. p .54.
The radula (US: /ˈrædʒʊlə/; pl.: radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a...
Radula perrottetii is a species of plant in genus Radula, a genus of liverworts. It is endemic in Japan. It contains the small molecule perrottetinene...
significant cavity used for breathing and excretion, the presence of a radula (except for bivalves), and the structure of the nervous system. Other than...
Radula marginata, or Wairuakohu, is a species of plant in the genus Radula, a genus of liverworts. It is endemic to New Zealand. It has been found to contain...
Helianthus radula is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name rayless sunflower or pineland sunflower. It is native to the southeastern...
herbivores, scavengers, filter feeders, and even parasites. In particular, the radula is often highly adapted to the specific diet of the various group of gastropods...
Silphium radula, commonly known as roughstem rosinweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native North America, where it...
Melaleuca radula, commonly known as graceful honey-myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia...
Tympanotonos fuscatus Tympanotonos fuscatus var. radula Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum:...
Eurybia radula, commonly known as the low rough aster or rough wood aster, is an herbaceous perennial in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern...
Radula visianica is a species of liverwort in the Radulaceae family. It is European Alps endemic. It was thought to be extinct since 1938 but was rediscovered...
snails are venomous and capable of stinging. Cone snails use a modified radula tooth and a venom gland to attack and paralyze their prey before engulfing...
Radula demissa is a species of liverwort. The species is found in Australia and New Zealand. Renner, M.A.M. et al. 2013: Integrative taxonomy resolves...
Raphitoma radula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae. The length of the shell varies between 12 mm and 19...
Salvia radula (African white sage) is a herbaceous perennial native to the northern provinces of South Africa, growing at elevations from 1,300 to 1,900 m...
liverworts from the genus Radula native to Japan, New Zealand and Costa Rica, namely Radula perrottetii, Radula marginata and Radula laxiramea, along with...
Radula jonesii is a species of liverwort in the family Radulaceae. It is known from a few locations on Madeira and one location on Tenerife. The populations...
and the visceral ganglia. There are sometimes also buccal ganglia. The radula of a gastropod is usually adapted to the food that a species eats. The simplest...
The rough ray (Raja radula) is a Mediterranean ray species of the Rajidae family described by Delaroche in 1809. The rough ray is named for the spinules...
Solidago radula, the western rough goldenrod, is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae. It is found primarily in the southern Great Plains...
oesophagus. The radula is unique to molluscs, and is found in every class of mollusc apart from bivalves. Within the gastropods, the radula is used in feeding...
Daphnella radula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Raphitomidae. The length of the shell attains 13.5 mm, its diameter...
Nipponacmea radula is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lottiidae, one of the families of true limpets. Nipponacmea...
Diloma radula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails. The size of the shell varies between 5 mm...
animal's odontophore, the muscular cushion used to support the limpet's radula (a kind of tongue) that scrapes algae off the surrounding rock for nutrition...
Coralliophila radula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails. Coralliophila radula (A. Adams...
Lepidophyma radula, the Yautepec tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico. It is known...
Global Information