The electron microscopic and histological studies of the buccal-cavity of herbivorous fish Mola (Amblypharyngodon mola) were performed. The studies revealed that the architectures of the buccal cavity of A. mola support the herbivory nature of the fish. Both the upper and lower jaws of the fish are rich in mucus glands, unculi, and microridges. The presence of papillae like taste buds in the lower jaw of A. mola indicates the mechanosensory role of the lower jaw during gustation. These features directly support a gustatory feeding behavior associated with filter feeding in this small freshwater fish.

Two morpho-groups (i.e., small, MGS and big, MGL) of the small freshwater fish Amblypharyngodon mola were studied for their feeding behaviour in the natural environment. Both the morpho-groups fed on a variety of phytoplankton including Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae and Euglenophyceae. The fish had more Chlorophyceae and Bacillariophyceae in their gut than other phytoplankton. Costello's selectivity plots revealed that the MGS fed on the smaller phytoplankters (2-6 µm in size), whereas the MGL fed on both the small and large (up to 12 µm in size) phytoplankters. The differences in mouth areas between the two morpho-groups were explained as a possible reason of size-selective feeding and contribute to overcome gape limitation in A. mola. This is further accompanied by the uniform pore size of the gills (2 µm) in all the morpho-groups. This study concluded that A. mola exhibits a size-dependent feeding strategy regulated by gape limitation at the ingestion level. With ontogenetic shifts, flexibility appears to overcome such a limitation in the MGL, having a wider mouth area supported by jaw opening ability.

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