Mollusks Phylum Mollusca
Advanced Invertebrates Phylum Mollusca Characteristics –1. Visceral Mass: soft bodied portion containing internal organs –2. Foot: Strong muscular part used for locomotion –3. Mantle: Covering enveloping the visceral mass Over 112,000 different species
Class Gastropoda “Belly Foot” Snails Slugs Conches
Class Cephalopoda “Head Foot” Octopus Squid
Class Bivalvia Clams Oysters Scallops
Classification Common Name: Clam Scientific Name: Unio, Anodonta Phylum: Mollusca Class: Bivalvia Other: Class Pelecypoda “Hatchet Foot”
Major Characteristics Body Plan: Foot, Mantle, Visceral Mass Body Cavity: Visceral Mass contains all internal organs Symmetry: Bilateral Cell Specialization: Complex Organs, “Soft Bodied”
Life Support Processes Absorption: Intestines, Nephridia Feeding: Filter Feeder, Gills, Radula = flexible, tongue-like projection with teeth Digestion: Stomach, Intestines Respiration: Gills Circulation: Open System - Blood travels through sinuses, flows into pericardial cavity around heart, blood pigment is blue Hemocyanin
Life Support Processes Excretion: Anus = solids, Nephridia = remove liquid ammonia waste Secretion: The mantle secretes the shell Response: Ganglia, Ocelli (Primitive Eyespot), Statocysts = Balance Movement: Foot = burrow into ocean floor, Adductor Muscles = Opens shell when relaxed
Life Support Processes Reproduction: Separate sexes, Trochophore = larvae Support: Shell provides all protection
Ecological Relationships Sessile Pearl Formation = due to secretion of mantle Food for starfish
Body Systems Compared With Humans Digestive System Separate sexes Gonads
Advancements Over Previous Phylum Heart Gills Shell
The largest bivalve is the Marine Giant Clam that can reach a size of 50 in. in length and can weigh over 750 lbs.! The slowest growing animal of any kind is a deep sea clam which only grows.31 in every 100 years!
The largest known invertebrate is the Giant Squid Architeuthis dux. They can be over 60 ft. in length and weigh more than 4,000 lbs.! The largest eye in the animal kingdom belongs to the Giant Squid; over 16 in. in diameter! (About the size of a hubcap)