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How do paddlefish gill rakers collect food from water?

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Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) — chondrostean Russian sturgeon (*Acipenser gueldenstaedtii*) swimming along the seafloor of the Black Sea.

Paddlefish collect food by swimming with their mouths held wide open, allowing water to flow through their gills. The gills are equipped with comblike rakers that act as a filter, straining plankton and other small food particles from the water as it passes through.12