EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The radula (US: /ˈrædʒʊlə/; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus.

Detailed explanation-2: -The mouth structures of many molluscs include a specially adapted rasp-like tongue called a radula. The radula is a hard ribbon-shaped structure covered in rows of teeth.

Detailed explanation-3: -The radula is the organ for mechanical food processing and an important autapomorphy of Mollusca. Its chitinous membrane, embedding small radular teeth, is moved by the set of muscles resulting in an interaction with the ingesta, tearing it and collecting loosened particles.

Detailed explanation-4: -Inside the giant squid’s sharp beak is a tongue-like organ called the radula (shown in yellow). Covered with rows of tiny teeth, it rams bite size pieces of food down the squid’s throat. The pieces must be small because the giant squid’s esophagus passes through the brain on the way to the stomach.

Detailed explanation-5: -You won’t find a radula anywhere in the human body, but it’s a common anatomical feature among animal species in phylum Mollusca. Biologists describe it as a rasping dental ribbon that replaces the tongue found in mammals. Oysters, clams and other bivalves are the only mollusks that lack this organ.