Word of the Week - Masticate

Masticate, verb to chew 
As in to chew food. 
Masticate is a very useful word in science fiction. It can describe the various motions of chewing that your alien species might use no matter what the structure of their jaw(s) might be, if they have them or if they don't. This pretty much covers any mechanical digestion process. 
Undulates don't masticate in any form however. They just sort of absorb algae.