Chapter 7 part 3 - ANIMALS WITHOUT BACKBONES

1. Define Mollusca
ANS: The phylum Mollusca includes invertebrates that have soft bodies within a hard, calcium
carbonate shell.

2. What is a mantle?
ANS: A thin layer of tissue that secretes the shell

3. What is a radula? What is it made of?

ANS: A ribbon of small teeth made of chitin that is used to scrape food when feeding.

4. Define Gastropods
ANS: Gastropods are the largest, most varied group of molluscs. They include snails, slugs, abalones,
and more.

5. Define Cephalopods
ANS: Gastropods are agile swimmers with complex, active nervous systems. They are all carnivores, and
they lack hard shells. Cephalopods include octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and more.

6. What is a beak?
ANS: A beak is a hard structure that is used by cephalopods to crunch food.

7. What is a pen?
ANS: A pen is a reduced version of a shell on the inside of squid that protects vital organs.

8. What is an ink sac?

ANS: An ink sac is where an octopus or squid produces ink that can be squirted into the water as a
defense mechanism.

9. Define Bivalves
ANS: Bivalves are invertebrates with two shells. They are filter feeders, and a few examples of them are
clams, oysters and mussels.

10. What is a valve?

ANS: A valve is a half of a Bivalve’s two part shell.

11. What is an umbo?

ANS: The umbo is the top part of a Bivalve’s shell where the two pieces connect.

12. What are byssal threads?

ANS: Byssal threads are a silky substance that bivalves produce and use to stick to hard surfaces
underwater.

13. What are the adductor muscles?

ANS: The adductor muscles are the strong muscles that bivalves use to open and close their shell.

14. How are mollusks different from other animals we have studied?
 ANS: Mollusks have a radula, which is a unique feature when compared to other invertebrates and
animals that we have studied.

15. Describe their larval stage.

ANS: MOllusks have trochophore larva, which means that their larva basically act as free floating
plankton until they develop past the larval stage.

16. What are the 4 main parts of a mollusk? Which one secretes the shell?
ANS: Mantle, foot radula, shell. The shell is secreted by the mantle.

17. What are shells made of?

ANS: Shells are made of calcium carbonate.

18. How do mollusks respire?

ANS: Mollusks respire using gills

19. Define Arthropoda

ANS: An arthropod is an invertebrate with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs.

20. Define Crustacea

ANS: A crustacean is an arthropod that has a hard, exoskeleton, two pairs of antennae, and a mouth for
crunching and grinding and uses gills to obtain oxygen from water. Crustaceans include crabs and
lobsters.

21. What is an exoskeleton?

ANS: An exoskeleton is a hard shell made of chitin that supports the organism.

22. What does it mean to molt? What is ecdysis?

ANS: Molting is when an organism grows too big for its shell and replaces it with a new one after
basically shedding it. Ecdysis is the process of shedding the old exoskeleton.

23. What is a carapace?

ANS: The hard upper shell of crustaceans and other shelled organisms.

24. What are decapods?

ANS: Decapods are an order of crustaceans that have 5 pairs of legs or appendages. This order includes
crabs.

25. Are there sea spiders? Are there sea insects?

ANS: There are sea spiders, but they are not the same as spiders that we have on land. No insects
actually live in the water at sea.