Minerals of the radular apparatus of Falcidens sp. (Caudofoveata) and the evolutionary implications for the phylum Mollusca

Authors: Renato Cruz, Ulysses Lins and Marcos Farina
Date: Apr. 1998
From: The Biological Bulletin(Vol. 194, Issue 2)
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Document Type: Article
Length: 2,960 words
Abstract :

Minerals have been found in the radular teeth of molluscs from the classes Caudofoveata, Polyplacophora, Monoplacophora, and Gastropoda (Patellogastropoda: Acmaeidae, Patellidae). Here we report the discovery of amorphous iron oxide and hydroxyapatite in the highly modified radular apparatus of Falcidens sp. (Caudofoveata). The mineralization process in Falcidens sp. is unique: the components of the radular apparatus, unlike those of other molluscs, are not renewed during the animal's lifetime. We propose that the presence of mineralized teeth among the molluscs is not necessarily connected to their manner of obtaining food and suggest that the molluscan common ancestor had mineralized teeth.
Source Citation
Cruz, Renato, et al. "Minerals of the radular apparatus of Falcidens sp. (Caudofoveata) and the evolutionary implications for the phylum Mollusca." The Biological Bulletin, vol. 194, no. 2, Apr. 1998, pp. 224+. link.gale.com/apps/doc/A20779444/AONE?u=gale&sid=bookmark-AONE. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
  

Gale Document Number: GALE|A20779444