Pseudofeces or pseudofaeces are a specialized method of expulsion that filter-feeding bivalve mollusks use in order to get rid of suspended particles such as particles of grit which cannot be used as food, and which have been rejected by the animal. The rejected particles are wrapped in mucus, and are then expelled without having passed through the digestive tract. Thus, although they may closely resemble the mollusk's real feces, they are not actually feces, hence the name pseudofeces, meaning false feces.
Pseudofeces of zebra mussel, photographed in the Deûle river (North of France).
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Filter feeders can be sessile, planktonic or nektonic, and some extant animals that rely on this method of feeding are clams, krill, sponges, baleen whales and many fish. Some birds, such as flamingos and certain species of duck, are also filter feeders. Filter feeders can play an important role in cleaning water, and are therefore considered ecosystem engineers. They are also important in bioaccumulation and, as a result, as indicator organisms.
Filter basket of a mysid
Mouth plates of a Baleen whale
Tube sponges attracting small reef fish
An undulating live Aurelia in the Baltic Sea showing the grid in action.