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The mantle cavity is a central feature of molluscan biology. This cavity is formed by the mantle skirt, a double fold of mantle which encloses a water space. 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 ...
Both octopuses and squids have mantles (referenced above) which function towards respiration and locomotion in the form of jetting. The composition of these mantles differs between the two families, however. In octopuses, the mantle is made up of three muscle types: longitudinal, radial, and circular.
The hyponome or siphon is the organ used by cephalopods to expel water, a function that produces a locomotive force. The hyponome developed from the foot of the molluscan ancestor. [14] Water enters the mantle cavity around the sides of the funnel, and subsequent contraction of the hyponome expands and then contracts, expelling a jet of water.
The mantle of Asperoteuthis acanthoderma is covered in minute, widely spaced tubercles of hyaline-like cartilage. In a 1990 study of dermal structures in squid, Clyde F. E. Roper and C. C. Lu wrote that they were "unable to suggest a function" for the tubercles of this species, but that due to their small size and spacing they were unlikely to ...
The gladius is located dorsally within the mantle and usually extends for its entire length. Composed primarily of chitin, it lies within the shell sac, which is responsible for its secretion. [1] [2] Some species, like the bigfin reef squid, still has a gladius with some degree of mineralization. [3]
A live individual of Pleurobranchaea meckelii; the ctenidium is visible as a feather-like structure in this view of the right-hand side of the animal. A ctenidium is a respiratory organ or gill which is found in many molluscs.
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An extreme development of the cephalopod fin is seen in the bigfin squid of the family Magnapinnidae. [2] Fins project from the mantle and are often positioned dorsally. In most cephalopods, the fins are restricted to the posterior end of the mantle, but in cuttlefish and some squid they span the mantle's entire length.