User:Alh583/sandbox

Suction feeding is a method of ingesting a prey item in fluids by sucking the prey into the predator's mouth. This is typically accomplished by the predator expanding the volume of its oral cavity and/or throat, resulting in a pressure difference between the inside of the mouth and the outside environment. When the mouth is opened, the pressure difference causes water to flow into the predator's mouth, carrying the prey item in with the fluid flow. Though suction feeding can be seen across fish species, those with more derived characters show an increase in the suction force as a result of more complex skull linkages that allow greater expansion of the buccal cavity and thereby creating a greater negative pressure. Most commonly this is achieved by increasing the lateral expansion of the skull. Perhaps the best examples of these derived characters that are explained belong to fishes in the teleostei clade.

For the Aquatic Predation article I plan to improve upon the suction feeding and possibly the jaw protrusion subsections of the article. First and foremost there needs to be more citations in the suction feeding section. Additionally I feel it could benefit from having some additional information added such as why and when has suction feeding been shown and in which fish. Some interesting articles that may contribute are those written by George Lauder. These include:

Lauder, G.V. (1982), Patterns of evolution in the feeding mechanism of actinopterygian fishes. American Zoologist, 22:275-285

Lauder, G. V. (1980a), Evolution of the feeding mechanism in primitive actinopterygian fishes: a functional anatomical analysis of Polypterus, Lepisosteus, and Amia. Journal of                            Morphology, 163:283-317

Lauder, G. V. (1980b), On the evolution of the jaw adductor musculature in primitive fishes: a functional anatomical analysis of Polypterus, Lepisosteus, and Amia. Breviora, 473:1-9

Lauder, G. V. (1979), Feeding mechanics in primitive teleosts and in the halecomorph fish Amia calva. Journal of Zoology, 187: 543–578. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1979.tb03386.x