ADAPTATION
283
_' to the food o‘r mode of life.
It has arisen from the general
.co-ordinatioof the different parts during growth, and we
can hardly say that it is an adaptation necessary to the well—
being of the species.
of the_Wrasses, small sh,
Molluscs, and Shrimps, are taken by other shes also; but
in working the booty ‘» into the gullet it is conceivablé that
.
the hard shells would lead to a stron'gei* development of the
teeth.
The Carps have no teeth on the jaws and: only a few
on the loWer pharyngeals; none at all on the upper pharyn—
geals, which forma fused
_
pad against which the lower
teeth work.
Yet they can take any kind of food,—though
they
soft bodies “of the insect larvæ. :
_
f
,
,
Mullets also haveno front,teeth, but the skin
of the tongUe (glossohyal) and—p_alateis covered with tubercles
’
and even small. teeth. Round the pharyngeal bones are
thiCk, eshy swellings which obstruct the passage into the
gullet. Thus a kind of chewing or rubbing of the food goes
on inthe mouth before it enters the latter.; This is ribbed '
with laments and ,coäted*with
'
-
portion
thestomach
'
,
‘%ïrwhich
of? a!
nature of
mostly Bivalves or UivalVes (Mussels
.
with some Crustacea, it would appear that the '
is a good eXanipléof the'fact that shes are
not restricted to. one 01; other particular
lose their teeth, they can use their f
if) ”the
pharynx does
or tear their—food, they
adapt
their stomachs to the purpose. .
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ï
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