JUSTICE BASHEER AHMED SAYEED COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

(Autonomous) Chennai 18.

S.I.E.T.

PG AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY

Classification of
Mollusca
General Characteristics of Phylum Mollusca
• Habitat: They are mostly marine. Many, however, occur in fresh water and some
even in damp soil.
• Body Form: The body of molluscs is un-segmented with a distinct head, muscular
foot and visceral hump. Neopilina is a segmented mollusc.
• Symmetry: They usually show bilateral symmetry. In some molluscs like Pila, due to
torsion (twisting) during growth, the adults become asymmetrical.
• Shell: Shell is secreted by mantle. It is made up of calcium carbonate. Shell may be
external (e.g., most of molluscs), internal (e.g., slug, cuttle fish, squid) or absent
(e.g., Octopus).
• Mantle (Pallium): It is a thin, fleshy fold of dorsal body wall more or less covering
the body. It encloses a space, which is called mantle cavity (= pallial cavity).
• Body wall: Single layered epidermis is usually ciliated. Muscles are un-striped and
occur in bundles.

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• Body cavity: Coelom is greatly reduced. It is restricted to pericardial cavity
(space around the fieart), and to small spaces within kidneys and gonads
(testes and ovaries). Spaces amongst the viscera (soft organs) contain blood
and form haemocoel.
• Digestive tract: It is complete and developed.
• Blood vascular system: It is open type. It includes dorsal heart, arteries that
open into sinuses; (spaces) and veins. Blood is usually blue due to the
presence of a copper- containing blue respiratory pigment called
haemocyanin. Among the molluscs, cuttle fish are exceptional in having closed
blood vascular system.
• Respirator organs: These are gills (cteoidia). Mantle and pulmonary sac (in
semi-terrestrial form).

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• Excretory organs: Excretory organs are one or two pairs of sac- like kidneys.
Gills are also excretory in function. Ammonia is chief excretory matter.
• Nervous System: The nervous system comprises paired cerebral, pleural, pedal
and visceral ganglia joined by the nerve connectives and conumssures.
Connectives connect dissimilar ganglia; however, commissures connect similar
ganglia
• Sense Organs: In many molluscs, eyes are present over stalks called
ommatophores. Statocysts (balancing organs) may be present. Osphradium is
present in some molluscs for testing chemical and physical nature of water.
• Sexes: The sexes are generally separate but some are hermaphrodite.
• Development: They are oviparous. The development is either direct or
indirect (metamorphosis). When the development is indirect it includes a
characteristic larva, liger, trochophore or glochidium. Asexual reproduction is
absent.
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 Classification of Mollusca

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 Class 1. Monoplacophora (Gr., monos, one+ plax,
plate+ pherein, bearing)
• Body is bilaterally symmetrical and segmented.
• Mantle dome-shaped.
• The shell comprises a single piece or valve.
• Flattened limpet-shaped shell with spirally coiled Protoconch.
• Head without eyes and tentacles.
• Mantle encircles the body as a circular fold of the body.
• Foot broad and flat, with 8 pairs of pedal retractor muscles.
• Gills external. 5 pairs of gills in pallial grooves.
• 6 pairs of nephridia, two of which are gonoducts.
• Radula in a radular sac; intestine much coiled.
• Heart of 2 pairs of auricles and a single ventricle.
• Nervous system with longitudinal pallial and pedal cords.
• Sexes separate (dioecious)
• Examples: Neopilina galatheae.

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 Class 2. Amphineura (Gr., amphi, both + neuron,
nerve)
• Body elongated with reduced head.
• Radula present.
• Shell as 8 dorsal plates or as spicules.
• Ventral foot, large, flat and muscular.
• Non- ganglionated nerve ring around the mouth with 2 pairs of the
interconnected nerve cord.
• External fertilization: trochophore larva.
• Examples: Neomenia, Nematomein, Chaetoderma.

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Class 3 Scaphopoda
• Tusk shells
• Body within a tubular shell, open at both the ends.
• No head, mouth with tentacles no eyes.
• Foot conical, radula present, no gills.
• Kidneys paired, gonad single.
• Dioecious, larva trochophore.
• Marine
• Eg: Dentalium

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Class 4 Gastropoda

• Habitat: These are either aquatic or terrestrial

• They possess a spiral shell.
• The foot is large and flat.
• Head is well developed with tentacles and eyes.
• Examples: Hilex (Snail), Limax (Slug), Pila (Apple snail)

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Class 5 Pelecypoda or Bivalvia
Habitat: mostly marine
• They burrow in mud and sand.
• Symmetry: bilateral and the body is laterally compressed.
• No distinct head
• Examples: Mussels, Unio, Mytilus,
•

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Class 6 Cephalopoda
• Habitat: mostly marine.
• They are adapted for swimming.
• The foot is modified into eight to ten long tentacles in the head region.
• The shell is either external, internal or absent.
• Examples: Octopus, Loligo, Sepia, spirula, Nautilus

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 THANK YOU

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