Editing Tusk shell (section)

=== Feeding and digestion ===
[[File:Scaphopoda.svg|thumb|upright=2|Anatomical diagram of ''[[Rhabdus rectius]]'']]
A number of minute [[tentacle]]s around the foot, called ''captacula'', sift through the sediment and latch onto bits of food, which they then convey to the mouth. The mouth has a grinding [[radula]] that breaks the bit into smaller pieces for digestion. The radulae and cartilaginous oral bolsters of the Gadilidae are structured like zippers where the teeth actively crush the prey by opening and closing on it repeatedly, while the radulae and bolsters of the Dentaliidae work rachet-like to pull the prey into the esophagus, sometimes whole.

The massive radula of the scaphopods is the largest such organ relative to body size of any mollusc (among whom, except for the [[Bivalvia|bivalves]], the presence of which is a defining characteristic). The remainder of the digestive system consists of a digestive [[diverticulum]], [[esophagus]], [[stomach]], and [[intestine]]. A digestive gland secretes enzymes into the stomach, but, unlike some other molluscs, does not digest the food directly itself. The [[anus]] opens on the ventral/ underside of the animal, roughly in the middle of the mantle cavity.