The enlarged gills are covered with cilia and have the additional function of filtering microscopic food particles from the water flowing over them.
Bivalves live on the sea bed or lake bottom and are sedentary, so the head and foot are reduced.
Lamellibranchia A Dictionary of Science, Oxford University Press 2. Mollusca A Dictionary of Science, Oxford University Press 3. Pelecypoda A Dictionary of Science, Oxford University Press 4. All rights reserved.