Mollusks
Mollusk, also spelled mollusc, any soft-bodied invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, usually wholly or partly enclosed in a calcium carbonate shell secreted by a soft mantle covering the body. Along with the insects and vertebrates, it is one of the most diverse groups in the animal kingdom, with nearly 100,000 (possibly as many as 150,000) described species. Each group includes an ecologically and structurally immense variety of forms: the shell-less Caudofoveata; the narrow-footed gliders (Solenogastres); the serially valved chitons (Placophora or Polyplacophora); the cap-shaped neopilinids (Monoplacophora); the limpets, snails, and slugs (Gastropoda); the clams, mussels, scallops, oysters, shipworms, and cockles (Bivalvia); the tubiform to barrel-shaped tusk shells (Scaphopoda); and the nautiluses, cuttlefishes, squids, and octopuses (Cephalopoda).
Mollusks Encyclopedia Articles
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clam
Clam, in general, any member of the invertebrate class Bivalvia—mollusks with a bivalved shell (i.e., one with two separate sections). More than 15,000 living species of bivalves are known, of which about...
octopus
Octopus, in general, any eight-armed cephalopod (octopod) mollusk of the order Octopoda. The true octopuses are members of the genus Octopus, a large group of widely distributed shallow-water cephalopods....
murex
Murex, any of the marine snails constituting the family Muricidae (subclass Prosobranchia of the class Gastropoda). Typically, the elongated or heavy shell is elaborately spined or frilled. The family...
cuttlefish
Cuttlefish, any of several marine cephalopods of the order Sepioidea, related to the octopus and squid and characterized by a thick internal calcified shell called the cuttlebone. The approximately 100...
giant squid
Giant squid, (genus Architeuthis), any member of a genus of large, elusive cephalopods inhabiting deep regions of temperate to subtropical marine waters. Thought to be the largest or second largest living...
conch
Conch, marine snail, of the subclass Prosobranchia (class Gastropoda), in which the outer whorl of the shell is broadly triangular in outline and has a wide lip, often jutting toward the apex. Conch meat...
cephalopod
Cephalopod, any member of the class Cephalopoda of the phylum Mollusca, a small group of highly advanced and organized, exclusively marine animals. The octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and chambered nautilus...
mussel
Mussel, any of numerous bivalve mollusks belonging to the marine family Mytilidae and to the freshwater family Unionidae. Worldwide in distribution, they are most common in cool seas. Freshwater mussels,...
oyster
Oyster, any member of the families Ostreidae (true oysters) or Aviculidae (pearl oysters), bivalve mollusks found in temperate and warm coastal waters of all oceans. Bivalves known as thorny oysters (Spondylus)...
bivalve
Bivalve, (class Bivalvia), any of more than 15,000 species of clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and other members of the phylum Mollusca characterized by a shell that is divided from front to back into...
zebra mussel
Zebra mussel, a species of tiny mussels (genus Dreissena) that are prominent freshwater pests. They proliferate quickly and adhere in great numbers to virtually any surface. The voracious mussels disrupt...
limpet
Limpet, any of various snails (class Gastropoda, phylum Mollusca) having a flattened shell. Most marine species cling to rocks near shore. A common American species is the Atlantic plate limpet (Acmaea...
