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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 ]
This space contains the mollusk's gills, anus, osphradium, nephridiopores, and gonopores. The mantle cavity functions as a respiratory chamber in most mollusks. In bivalves it is usually part of the feeding structure. In some mollusks the mantle cavity is a brood chamber, and in cephalopods and some bivalves such as scallops, it is a locomotory ...
The mollusc (or mollusk [spelling 1]) shell is typically a calcareous exoskeleton which encloses, supports and protects the soft parts of an animal in the phylum Mollusca, which includes snails, clams, tusk shells, and several other classes. Not all shelled molluscs live in the sea; many live on the land and in freshwater.
A siphon is an anatomical structure which is part of the body of aquatic molluscs in three classes: Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Cephalopoda (members of these classes include saltwater and freshwater snails, clams, octopus, squid and relatives). Siphons in molluscs are tube-like structures in which water (or, more rarely, air) flows.
Molluscs have more varied forms than other invertebrate phyla. They are highly diverse, not just in size and in anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and in habitat. The majority of species still live in the oceans, from the seashores to the abyssal zone, but some form a significant part of the freshwater fauna and the terrestrial ecosystems.
Scaphopoda / s k æ ˈ f ɒ p ə d ə / (plural scaphopods / ˈ s k æ f ə p ɒ d z /, from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́φης skáphē "boat" and πούς poús "foot"), whose members are also known as tusk shells or tooth shells, are a class of shelled marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum Mollusca with worldwide distribution and are the only class of exclusively infaunal marine molluscs.
A molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specialises in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods and cephalopods.Known molluscivores include numerous predatory (and often cannibalistic) molluscs, (e.g.octopuses, murexes, decollate snails and oyster drills), arthropods such as crabs and firefly larvae, and, vertebrates such as fish, birds and mammals. [1]
The radula (US: / ˈ r æ dʒ ʊ l ə /; pl.: radulae or radulas) [1] is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. [2] It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus.