ANIMAL DIVERSITY-1

MOLLUSCS

Relationship to other animals

Molluscs are protostomes
having samilarities with other protostomes
because both have trochopore larvae
other structures like excretory and duct system are
similar
most zoologist accept this relationship but relationship
between the members of molluscs and other
protostomes are distant.
Origin of the Coelome

there are a number of hypothesis about the origin of

coelome in mollucs
1.schizocoel hypothesis -Gr. schizen to
split+bkoilos.hollow
2.in this case coelom is forme due to splitting of
mesoderm and found in all protostomes
3.mesoderm fill the area between ectodem and
endoderm
4.it suggests that triplobast acoelomate is the ancestor of
coelomate
Enterocoel Hypothesis
Gr. enteron- gut, koilos- hollow
1.it suggests that coelom arised as out pocketing of
primitive gut.
2.this pattern of coelom formation is present in
deuterostomes.
3.this hypothesis suggests that mesoderm and the
coelom are formed from the gut of diploblastic animal.
conclusion zoologist dont know which hypothesis is
correct.
Molluscan Characteristics
90000, 100000 LIVING SPECIES
70000 are known fossils
Habitat
Aquatic, terrestrial
•doral epithelium forming mentle which secrete
calareous shell, which covers the visceral mass
•body symmetry- bilateral symmetry
•coelom reduced to a cavity
•circulatory system- open
Head-Foot -region:

mouth sensory structure,ventral body muscles develop

into a locomotory or clinging foot.

Visceral Mass:

The visceral mass is the portion containing digestive,

circulatory, respiratory, and reproductive organs

Mentle:
Two folds of skin, outgrowths of the dorsal body wall, form a protective mantle,
which encloses a space between the mantle and body
wall called the mantle cavity.

The mantle cavity houses gills (ctenidia) or a lung, and

in some molluscs the mantle secretes a protective shell
over the visceral mass
Shell
The shell of a mollusc, when present, is secreted by the
mantle and is lined by it.

Typically there are three layers

1.Periostracum

The outer organic layer, composed of an organic

substance called conchiolin
• which consists of quinonetanned protein.

• It helps to protect underlying calcareous layers from

erosion by boring organisms.
• It is secreted by a fold of the mantle edge, and
growth occurs only at the margin of the shell
• On the older parts of the shell, periostracum often
becomes worn away
The inner nacreous layer

of the shell lies next to the mantle and is secreted

continuously by the mantle surface, so that it increases
in thickness during the life of the animal.

The calcareous nacre is laid down in thin layers

• There is great variation in shell structure among molluscs.

• Freshwater molluscs usually have a thick periostracum that gives

some protection against acids produced in the water by decay of leaf
litter.
• In many marine molluscs the periostracum is relatively

• thin, and in some it is absent.

• Calcium for the shell comes from environmental water or soil or from
food.
• The first shell appears during the larval period and grows
continuously throughout life.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Gills, Lungs, body surface
Circulatory System
There is an open circulatory system with a pumping heart, blood
vessels, and blood sinuses.
In an open circulatory system blood is not entirely contained
within blood vessels; rather it flows through vessels in some parts
of the body and enters open sinuses in other parts
Most cephalopods have a closed circulatory system with heart,
vessels, and capillaries.
Digestive system

The digestive tract is complex and highly specialized,

according to feeding habits of the various molluscs, and
is usually equipped with extensive ciliary tracts

Excretory System

Most molluscs have a pair of kidneys metanephridia, a

type of nephridium in which the inner end opens into
the coelom by a nephrostome).
Ducts of the kidneys in many forms also serve for
discharge of eggs and sperm
Nervous System
The nervous system consists of several pairs of ganglia
with connecting nerve cords, and it is generally simpler
than that of annelids and arthropods.
The nervous system contains neurosecretory cells that,
at least in certain air-breathing snails, produce a growth
hormone and function in osmoregulation.
There are various types of highly specialized sense
organs.
Reproduction and Life History

Most molluscs are dioecious, although some are

hermaphroditic.

The free-swimming trochophore larva that emerges

from the egg in many molluscs is remarkably similar to
that seen in annelids.

Direct metamorphosis of a trochophore into a small

juvenile, as in chitons, is viewed as ancestral for
molluscs
in many molluscan groups (especially gastropods and bivalves)

the trochophore stage is followed by a uniquely molluscan larval

stage called a veliger.

The free-swimming veliger has the beginnings of a foot, shell,

and mantle.

In many molluscs the trochophore stage occurs in the egg, and a

veliger hatches to become the only free-swimming stage.
Cephalopods, some freshwater bivalves, and freshwater and some
marine snails have no free-swimming larvae; instead, juveniles
hatch directly from eggs
Trochophore larvae are minute, translucent, more or

less top-shaped, and have a prominent circlet of cilia

(prototroch) and sometimes one or two accessory
circlets.

They are found in molluscs and annelids exhibiting the

ancestral embryonic development pattern and are
usually considered homologous between the two phyla.