XXIII.—The Feeding Mechanism, Formation of the Tube, and Physiology of Digestion in Sabella pavonina

Abstract

Recent work has directed much attention to the subject of feeding mechanisms and digestive enzymes in the Invertebrates. The groups worked on previously have been chiefly the Mollusca and the Crustacea, and it was felt that a study of the Polychætes in this connection would be of considerable interest in itself, as well as for comparative purposes. An examination of the literature showed that the amount of detailed work on the Polychætes from the physiological point of view was extremely small, and, in the case of the digestive processes, out of date. A study of the feeding mechanisms and physiology of digestion in Polychaetes has therefore been begun, choosing a filter-feeding form as a starting point, so that a direct comparison can be made with such Molluscs as Mya arenaria and Ostrea edulis , which feed on similar material.