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Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks [a] (/ ˈ m ɒ l ə s k s /). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda . [ 5 ]
List of mollusc orders illustrates the 97 orders in the phylum Mollusca, the largest marine animal phylum. 85,000 extant species are described, [1] making up 23% of described marine organisms. [ 2 ] Class Aplacophora
The class Gastropoda is a diverse and highly successful class of mollusks within the phylum Mollusca. It contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. The fossil history of this class goes back to the Late Cambrian .
Terrestrial mollusks comprise about 35 thousand species, most of which belong to the order (in some sources suborder or infraorder) Stylommatophora. Terrestrial molluscs occur across most of the planet, with the exception of Antarctica and some islands. They inhabit a wide range of ecosystems, from deserts and tundras to rainforests.
The mollusks or molluscs are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca. Subcategories. This category has the following 20 subcategories, out of 20 total. ...
The taxonomic term Bivalvia was first used by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 to refer to animals having shells composed of two valves. [3] More recently, the class was known as Pelecypoda, meaning "axe-foot" (based on the shape of the foot of the animal when extended).
Molluscs (Latin for soft) form a phylum with about 85,000 extant recognized species. [57] By species count they are the largest marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organisms. [58] Molluscs have more varied forms than other invertebrate phyla.
The two major classes of molluscs have representatives in freshwater: the gastropods (snails) and the bivalves (freshwater mussels and clams.) It appears that the other classes within the Phylum Mollusca -the cephalopods, scaphopods, polyplacophorans, etc. - never made the transition from a fully marine environment to a freshwater environment.