Suction feeding

Suction feeding draws prey or food into an animal’s mouth by rapidly expanding the mouth cavity and lowering pressure inside it.

Buccal expansion: Expansion of the mouth cavity that lowers its internal pressure and draws surrounding fluid inward. It creates the pressure difference that pulls prey into the mouth.
Buccal cavity: The space inside an animal’s mouth, bounded by the jaws and associated tissues. Its volume changes during suction feeding.
Ram feeding: A feeding method in which an animal moves forward to engulf or overtake prey. Unlike suction, it relies primarily on the predator’s forward motion.
Fish feeding: The range of behaviors and structures fish use to acquire and process food. Suction is a widespread capture strategy among fishes.
Hydrodynamics: The study of fluids in motion and the forces acting within them. Water flow around the mouth governs how prey accelerates toward it.
Hyoid apparatus: A set of bones and muscles that supports the tongue and helps move the floor of the mouth. Its movement can help expand the mouth cavity.
Biting: Food capture or processing by closing jaws or other mouthparts on a target. Biting applies direct contact force rather than drawing prey inward with flow.
Seahorse: A fish in the genus Hippocampus, recognized by its upright posture and elongated snout. Its rapid snout expansion produces suction to capture small prey.
Suction-induced flow: Fluid motion toward an expanding cavity as pressure inside it falls below surrounding pressure. This inward flow carries prey across the mouth opening.
Operculum: A bony or muscular covering that protects the gills in many fishes. Opercular motion contributes to pressure changes in some fish feeding systems.

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