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Most nemerteans or Ribbon Worms are carnivorous and predatory, catching prey with their proboscis , although some are scavengers and some are herbivores . In some families, it is armed with a sharp stylet which may be poisonous, while those that lack the stylet often use a sticky secretion on the proboscis to entrap their prey. The proboscis is wrapped around the prey, which is normally other invertebrates such as crustaceans and annelids and can be many times larger than the nemertean itself, and the prey is then stabbed repeatedly with the stylet until dead . A few, such as Malacobdella, live parasitically in the mantle cavity of molluscs and live on the food filtered by their hosts . It is claimed that some ribbon worms will eat themselves if no other food is available.

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16y ago

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