radula

American  

[raj-oo-luh] / ˈrædʒ ʊ lə /

noun

radulae plural

1. a chitinous band in the mouth of most mollusks, set with numerous, minute, horny teeth and drawn backward and forward over the floor of the mouth in the process of breaking up food.

---

radula British  

/ ˈrædjʊlə /

noun

1. a horny tooth-bearing strip on the tongue of molluscs that is used for rasping food

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• radular
  adjective
• subradular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• radulae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of radula

1745–55; < New Latin rādula, Latin: scraper, equivalent to rād ( ere ) to scrape, rub + -ula -ule

Example Sentences

The scans uncovered a radula, a ribbon-like feeding organ lined with rows of tiny teeth that is found in molluscs.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

The existence of Typhloesus’s toothy radula led the scientists to deduce that the alien goldfish was in fact a mollusk.

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2022

A complex radula is used by the digestive system and aids in the ingestion of food.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The morphology of the jaws and radula suggests that ammonites fed on small marine invertebrates—indeed, tiny crustaceans and snail-like gastropods were found among the jaws of one specimen.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 6, 2011

Short and truncated in front; thick cuticle, often without papillae; gills and radula present.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various