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Probably because bivalves are tasty and nutritious (who doesn't like clams?) and their shells are easy for a starfish to pry open. They also like other echinoderms like urchins.

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17y ago

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Why are bivalves the preferred food for many starfish?

Starfish are not the fastest swimmers, so any prey they can capture will need to be slow if not immobile. The starfish has evolved to take advantage of the bivalve community and, lacking any pressure to find other food, have no reason to hunt anything else.


What is the function of the ambulacral groove?

The function of the ambulacral groove on a starfish is to open the shells of bivalves. It also hold the tubed feet of the starfish.


What type of mouthparts do starfish have?

They don't have mouthparts. They exude their first stomach from their bodies and into the bivalves they commonly eat. This stomach digests the meat inside the shell and then is drawn back into the starfish to be further digested by the secondary stomach. The starfish is a predator of bivalves such as clams and mussels, but is known to scavenge as well.


The methods a starfish uses to obtain its food?

Most starfish eat mollusks, principally bivalves which they force open by seizing both halves of the shell with their tube feet and pulling the halves apart very slowly until the bivalve is exhausted.


What structure of the starfish body help them to obtain food?

Starfish use their tube feet, which are part of their water vascular system, to help obtain food. These tube feet can extend and retract, allowing starfish to grip and manipulate their prey, such as bivalves. Additionally, starfish have a unique feeding mechanism where they can evert their stomachs out of their bodies to digest food externally, allowing them to absorb nutrients from their prey. This combination of tube feet and external digestion enables them to effectively feed on a variety of marine organisms.


Is a starfish herbivores?

Yes as it mostly eats seaweed. +++ No: starfish are either carnivores that prey on bivalves such as mussels, or are filter-feeders browsing on detritus.


Is a sea star a herbivore carnivor or omnivore?

CarnivoreDietCommon starfish eat bivalves, polychaete worms, small crustaceans and other echinoderms (the group which includes urchins and starfish).


Is a sea star a carnivore omnivore or herbivore?

CarnivoreDietCommon starfish eat bivalves, polychaete worms, small crustaceans and other echinoderms (the group which includes urchins and starfish).


Are starfish omnivores?

No, starfish are not omnivores. They are primarily carnivores, feeding on small organisms like bivalves, barnacles, and snails. They use their tube feet to pry open the shells of their prey and then push their stomachs outside their bodies to digest their food.


Bivalves obtain food by?

filtering it out of water


How do bivalves obtain food?

Bivalves feed by filtering food from the water as it passes through their gills. They have specialized gills that capture food as it passes through with the water.


How do seashells get their food?

You need to be more specific . . . How do bivalves get their food ? or, How do mollusca get their food ?