What are the characteristics used to classify mollusks?
Biologists classify mollusks into groups based on physical characteristics. Some of these characteristics are the presence of a shell, the type of shell, the type of foot, the arrangement of teeth in the radula, and the complexity of the nervous system.
What is unique about Mollusca?
Despite their amazing diversity, all molluscs share some unique characteristics that define their body plan. The body has a head, a foot and a visceral mass. The buccal cavity, at the anterior of the mollusc, contains a radula (lost in bivalves) — a ribbon of teeth supported by an odontophore, a muscular structure.
What is the meaning of Mollusca?
: a large phylum of invertebrate animals (as snails, clams, and mussels) that have a soft unsegmented body lacking segmented appendages and commonly protected by a calcareous shell.
What are the physical characteristics of a molluscan?
Study of molluscan shell is called conchology. The animals of this phylum are soft-bodied, non-metameric, triploblastic coelomates and fundamentally bilaterally symmetrical invertebrates with a thin fleshy envelope the mantle, around the visceral (internal organs of the body) which may secrete calcareous shell.
Which is the best description of the phylum Mollusca?
Classification of Phylum Mollusca. The different classes under phylum Mollusca include: Bivalvia. Gastropoda. Cephalopoda. Monoplacophora. Amphineura.
Are there any molluscans that are good for humans?
But not all molluscans are good for humans. Some are pests like the snails and slugs. They are bilaterally symmetrical. They are triploblastic, which three layers. They show organ system grade of organisation. The body is soft and unsegmented. Body is divisible into three regions – head, a visceral mass, and ventral foot.
What makes a Mollusca’s blood blue or green?
The blood is blue or green in colour due to the presence of a pigment containing copper called haemocyanin. They possess a myogenic heart. Here is an overview of the phylum Mollusca that includes the classification of Mollusca, Mollusca characteristics, and Mollusca examples.
