Abstract
Light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to compare the structure of the tentacles and digestive tracts of four species of intertidal dendrochlrote (Roweia stephensoni, Pseudocneila sykion, Aslia spy- ridophora, R. frauenfeldi frauenfeldi), and one species of aspidochirote holothuroid (Neostichopus grammatus). In addition, gut lengths and contents of the five species were compared. Gut contents were sieved to determine the size of the particulate matter ingested. Roweia stephensoni, P. sykion and A. spyridophora were found to be suspension feeders using dendritic tentacles to capture and ingest food particles mostly <53 μm in size. Roweia f. frauenfeldi was also a suspension feeder but, had atypical (reduced) dendritic tentacles which captured food particles between 250 μm-1.18 mm in size. Neostichopus grammatus was a deposit feeder, ingesting sediments mostly between 106-500 μm using tentacles which are peltate with ramified processes. The gut lengths of the four suspension-feeding ...
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