The buccal mass is used to break through hard exoskeletons, secrete digestive fluids, and then remove the softened flesh of prey. With small prey, the beak is not needed for biting or severing any body parts. There is also evidence of a sex-specific cognitive bias in I. paradoxus, such that females more often than males overestimate the size of prey they will be able to successfully attack.
The buccal mass is used to breach hard exoskeletons, secrete digestive fluids, and subsequently extract the softened flesh from prey. For small prey, the beak isn't needed for biting or severing body parts. There's also evidence of a sex-specific cognitive bias in I. paradoxus, where females more frequently than males overestimate the size of prey they can successfully attack.