魔魨

Diet. Three specimens of Mephisto fraserbrunneri had stomach contents: DABFUK / FI / 304 contained primarily foraminiferans and secondarily pteropods. Both planktic (Globorotalia menardii, Globigerinella siphonifera, Globigerinoides ruber, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, and Trilobatus sacculifer) and benthic (Bolivina and Uvigerina) foraminiferans were present (Brian Huber, pers. comm., 2020). Pteropod shells, as well as several scaphopods and an echinoderm spine, were also in the stomach. The shells of these organisms had sediment on them, and the foraminiferans did not appear to have been ingested alive. USNM 306629 had well-digested amphipods in its stomach. The largest specimen, USNM 350153, had chitin fragments and peropods of a gammarid in its stomach (Gorelova et al., 1993), which were lost when it was cleared and stained. Based upon this data, we conclude that M. fraserbrunneri feeds on a diversity of small organisms found on or in bottom sediment.