Starfish use tiny suction-cup feet to pry open stubborn clams
Equipped with hundreds of specialized tube feet, sea stars exert a relentless hydraulic grip to overpower the powerful adductor muscles of clams and other bivalves.
Sea stars utilize a complex water vascular system to operate hundreds of tiny, suction-tipped tube feet. By attaching these feet to a clam’s shell, the sea star applies a steady, tireless pressure that eventually exhausts the mollusk’s defensive muscles.
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