Mode of particle ingestion in five species of suspension-feeding bivalve molluscs

In order to elucidate the mode of particle ingestion and the functional anatomy of the oesophagus in bivalves, a histological study was performed onMytilus edulis (Mytilidae),Crassostrea virginica (Ostreidae),Placopecten magellanicus, Chlamys varia, and juvenilePecten maximus (Pectinidae). Specimens were sampled from various sites in New Brunswick, Canada, and Brittany, France, from 1987 to 1989. The buccal, peribuccal, and oesophageal epithelia of all species contained a dense distribution of actively secreting mucocytes, although these were somewhat less abundant inCrassostrea virginica, which also has the shortest oesophagus. Mucocyte morphology, while constant within a family (Pectinidae), showed clear differences among families. Both acid and neutral mucopolysaccharides were secreted by the epithelial mucocytes of all species. Mucus and mucus-particle masses were observed in the peribuccal and buccal regions, as well as in the oesophageal lumina of all species, even in those specimens which had been maintained without feeding (Placopecten magellanicus) or held out of water for 48 h (C. virginica) prior to dissection and fixation. These results indicate that a basal level of mucus production and transport is continuous on the peribuccal, buccal, and oesophageal ciliated epithelia, regardless of the particle concentration in the external medium. Buccooesophageal glands, generally thought to be absent in the Bivalvia, were observed in one of the species examined (M. edulis). It is concluded that the mode of particle ingestion in these suspension-feeding bivalves is via ciliatransported mucus masses; the presence of buccooesophageal glands inM. edulis suggests a digestive role for the oesophagus in this species.