Phylum Mollusca

General Characteristics

50,000 or more species of Mollusca.

They share 3 major sets of characteristics:
 Body enclosed by a blanket-like mantle that secretes a shell
made of calcium or some other stiff structure.
 A mantle cavity between the mantle and the internal organs; the
anus, reproductive, and excretory ducts open into the mantle
cavity.
 Ventral, muscular foot that is highly modified among the
various groups of Mollusca.
 Phylum Mollusca

Body usually have anterior head, ventral foot and a

dorsal visceral mass.
Covered by a fleshy outgrowth of the body wall called a
mantle.
 Shell if present is secreted by the mantle
Radula- a tongue-like structure bearing transvers rows
of minute chitinous teeth.
With the exception of Monoplacophora, the phylum is
unsegmented.
General Characteristics

Free-living, multicellular animals

Invertebrates (lack a backbone)
Unsegmented
Have a true coelom
Bilateral symmetry
Have a true heart
Simple to complex nervous system
Habitats & Niches

Some mollusc habitats include:

 Marine (mostly)
 Freshwater (a few)

 Land (a few)

Mollusc niches (life-style):

 Most live on the ocean bottom and are mostly
sedentary
 Some are free-swimming (the cephalopods)
 Systems

Skeletal-
Skeletal Mantle may secretes a shell. Use hydrostatic
pressure for ventral muscular foot.
Muscles -Ventral muscular foot and other muscles
present.
Digestive-
Digestive complete complex with salivary glands,
digestive gland and Rasping tongue (Radula).
Circulatory - Open except for Cephalopoda. Dorsal
heart, usually in a pericardial cavity.
Respiratory - Ctenidia (gills) in mantle cavity.
 Systems

Excretory-
Excretory by nephridia usually connecting to the pericardial
cavity.
Nervous - Nerve ring with various pairs of ganglia—two pairs of
nerve cords, one innervating the foot, the other the visceral mass
(modified ventral ladder-like system)
Integumentary - Mantle
Endocrine - nervous systems produces hormones.
Reproductive - varied- monoecious, protandric, or dioecious.
Larva in marine = trochophore and veliger.
Taxonomy

Classes:
 Monoplacophora
 Polyplacophora

 Scaphopoda

 Gastropoda

 Bivalvia

 Cephalopoda
 Class Monoplacophora

First 10 specimens of Neopilina were taken in

1952 from dark muddy clay at 3350 m (11,000 ft)
off the coast of Costa Rica.
Since then other species have been found in Indo-
Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans.
Neopilina is the only living genus
Neopilina has segmented muscles
 Class Polyplacophora (Chitons)

Elliptical body with dorsal surface bearing

eight overlapping limy plates (valves)
Chitons are marine.
 They live mostly in shallow water. Genera
 All are similar in morphology and ecology. •Katherina
 They are slow moving microphagous feeders, •Cryptochiton
scraping algae and other small invertebrates
from substrate with their radula.
 Polyplacophora
representative genera.

Katherina

Katherina dorsal surface

Katherina ventral surface

 Polyplacophora
representative genera.

Cryptochiton

Cryptochiton dorsal surface

Cryptochiton ventral surface

 Class Scaphopoda

Tooth shells (or Tusk

shells)
 Shell and mantle slender,
tubular, and slightly curved.
 It is open at both ends

Dentalium
 Class: Gastropoda
Univalves, Shell usually spiral, distinct
head, scraping radula.
Visceral mass typically turned 180°
counterclockwise = torsion. And the
visceral mass is coiled in shell.
Representatives
 Garden snail (Helix), Whelks (Busycon),
Conch, Cowries,, Sea hare, Nudibranchs,
Slugs, and abalone.
Helix (garden snail)

Helix, ventral view

Helix, dorsal view

Helix, side view

 Busycon (Whelk)

Busycon (shell removed)

Busycon shells
 Other Gastropods

Abalone shells

Conch

Examples of gastropoda
Other Gastropods

Sea Hair (ventral view) Sea Hair side view

Slug
Class Bivalvia
Shell of two lateral valves, with dorsal
hinge.
Mantle of flattened right and left lobes.
Posterior margin commonly forming
siphons
Labial palps beside mouth
No head
No radula Representative bivalves
Representatives of Bivalvia
Anadonta (Freshwater clam)
Teredo (Shipworm)
Rock boring clam
Ostrea (Oyster)
Pecten (Scallop)

Freshwater clam dissection

Anadonta
Teredo (shipworm)
and the Rock boring worm

Teredo Teredo in wood

Rock boring clam

 Oyster and Scallop

Scallop shells

Oyster cluster Oyster shells

External Shell
Mantle
One side of mantle removed
Class Cephalopoda
Large head with conspicuous eyes
Ventral foot modified into tentacles(are arms)
with suckers.
Representative Cephalopods
 Nautilus(Chambered Nautilus)
 Octopus (Octopus)
 Loligo (Squid)
 Sepia (Cuttle fish)
Nautilus
(South Pacific and Indian Ocean)
Octopus Eight arms
Loligo

Internal skeleton
 Sepia
Cuttlebone (internal skeleton)