osphradium

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osphradium A water-sampling organ, common to all Neogastropoda and also found in many other gastropods, that can detect very small amounts of chemicals in solution. Scenting for prey is its primary use. It consists of a patch of sensory epithelium on the posterior margin of afferent gill membranes which acts as a chemoreceptor and determines the amount of sediment in the water being inhaled.

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