What structures act as a sieve within the whale shark's mouth when ram filter feeding?
Answer
Gill rakers
Whale sharks are characterized as ram filter feeders, a process initiated when they swim forward with their expansive mouths wide open to ingest large volumes of water. As this water rushes through the mouth cavity, it passes over specialized internal components known as gill rakers. These structures are essential to their feeding strategy as they operate like a fine sieve, efficiently trapping microscopic food particles like plankton while allowing the filtered water to be expelled through the gill slits.
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