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22 views7 pages

Mollusca: Toggle Anatomy Subsection

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louie gacuan
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Anatomy
Toggle Anatomy subsection

Ecology
Toggle Ecology subsection

Classification
Toggle Classification subsection

Evolutionary History


Human interaction
Toggle Human interaction subsection

See also


Explanatory notes


References


Further reading


External links

Mollusca
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


(Redirected from Mollusc)
"Mollusk" redirects here. For other uses, see Mollusk (disambiguation).

Mollusca

Temporal range: Lower


Cambrian – Present, 535–0 Ma[1]

PreꞒ

Pg

Diversity of molluscs. Clockwise


from top left: Ruditapes
philippinarum, Dentalium sp., Litt
orina littorea, Tonicella
lineata, Nautilus pompilius,
and Amphioctopus fangsiao

Scientific classification

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Subkingdom: Eumetazoa

Clade: ParaHoxozoa

Clade: Bilateria

Clade: Nephrozoa

(unranked): Protostomia

(unranked): Spiralia

Superphylum Lophotrochozo
: a

Phylum: Mollusca
Linnaeus, 1758

Subphyla, unplaced genera,


and classes

 Kimberella? †
 Wiwaxia †
 Shishania †[2]
 Odontogriphus †
 Aculifera
 Calvapilosa? †
 Halkieriidae? †
 Qaleruaqia †
 Acaenoplax †
 Multiplacophora †
 Polyplacophora
 Solenogastres
 Caudofoveata
 Conchifera
 Monoplacophora (no
n-monophyletic)
 Cephalopoda
 Scaphopoda
 Rostroconchia †
 Helcionelloida †
 Gastropoda
 Bivalvia

Diversity[3]
85,000 recognized living
species.

Cornu aspersum (formerly Helix aspersa)—a


common land snail
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known
as molluscs or mollusks[a] (/ˈmɒləsks/). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are
recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda.[5] The number
of additional fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000,[6] and the
proportion of undescribed species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied.[7]
Molluscs are the largest marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine
organisms. They are highly diverse, not just in size and anatomical structure, but also in
behaviour and habitat, as numerous groups are freshwater and even terrestrial species.
The phylum is typically divided into 7 or 8 taxonomic classes,[8] of which two are
entirely extinct. Cephalopod molluscs, such as squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses, are
among the most neurologically advanced of all invertebrates—and either the giant
squid or the colossal squid is the largest known extant invertebrate species.
The gastropods (snails, slugs and abalone) are by far the most diverse class and
account for 80% of the total classified molluscan species.

The four most universal features defining modern molluscs are a soft body composed
almost entirely of muscle, a mantle with a significant cavity used for breathing
and excretion, the presence of a radula (except for bivalves), and the structure of
the nervous system. Other than these common elements, molluscs express great
morphological diversity, so many textbooks base their descriptions on a "hypothetical
ancestral mollusc" (see image below). This has a single, "limpet-like" shell on top, which
is made of proteins and chitin reinforced with calcium carbonate, and is secreted by a
mantle covering the whole upper surface. The underside of the animal consists of a
single muscular "foot". Although molluscs

displayed at the National Museum of the Philippines


Molluscs have been and still are an important food source for humans. Toxins that can
accumulate in certain molluscs under specific conditions create a risk of food poisoning,
and many jurisdictions have regulations to reduce this risk. Molluscs have, for centuries,
also been the source of important luxury goods, notably pearls, mother of pearl, Tyrian
purple dye, and sea silk. Their shells have also been used as money in some
preindustrial societies.

A handful of mollusc species are sometimes considered hazards or pests for human
activities. The bite of the blue-ringed octopus is often fatal, and that of Octopus
apollyon causes inflammation that can last over a month. Stings from a few species of
large tropical cone shells of the family Conidae can also kill, but their sophisticated,
though easily produced, venoms have become important tools
in neurological research. Schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia, bilharziosis, or snail
fever) is transmitted to humans by water snail hosts, and affects about 200 million
people. Snails and slugs can also be serious agricultural pests, and accidental or
deliberate introduction of some snail species into new environments has seriously
damaged some ecosystems.

Etymology
[edit]
The words mollusc and mollusk are both derived from the French mollusque, which
originated from the post-classical Latin mollusca, from mollis, soft, first used by J.
Jonston (Historiæ Naturalis, 1650) to describe a group comprising cephalopods.
[9]
Molluscus is used in classical Latin as an adjective only with nux (nut) to describe a
particular type of soft nut. The use of mollusca in biological taxonomy by Jonston and
later Linnaeus may have been influ

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