Feeding and Digestion

Food is captured on branching cilliated tentacles that surround the mouth. The food particles are then transported to the mouth. Sipunculans have an unusual complete U-shaped gut. The mouth is surrounded by a crown of tentacles that collects food particles from surrounding surfaces. Sipunculans are surface deposit feeders that gather food from the mud and sand that they live in. Because the digestive tract is U-shaped, the gut forms a twisted loop and so the anus is on the side of the body!




F=anus
B=retractor muscles
E=compensation sac
C=inverted proboscis