Gymnosomata are carnivorous, feeding only on their fellow pteropods, the Thecosomata.[5] Their lifestyles have coevolved with those of their prey, with their feeding strategy adapting to the morphology and consistency of the thecosome shell.[5]
Their hunting strategies are variable; some forms are ambush predators, sitting and waiting for their prey; whilst others actively pursue their prey; their metabolic rate is closely linked to that of their prey species.[5] Even the size of the gymnosomes is correlated to the size of their prey,[5] which they recognize by means of touch and grab using their sometimes-suckered buccal cones.[5] A combination of hooks and a toothed radula are employed to scour the flesh from the thecosomes' shells.[5]
Gymnosomes slowly beat their wing-like parapodia[5] in a rowing motion[6] to propel their "perfectly streamlined"[6] bodies through the upper 20 m of the water column. Although usually slow-moving, beating their wings once or twice per second, they are capable of bursts of speed when they need to pursue their prey, calling a separate suite of muscles into action to obtain the higher beat frequency.[5]
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