Mollusca
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
- Chiton tuberculatus, Guadaloupe, West Indies. Hans Hillewaert (Lycaon)/Wiki Commons
- Tridacna maxima, Maxima Clam. Scott W. Michael
- Elysia crispata, Lettuce Slug. Scott W. Michael
- Cyprea tigris, Tiger Cowrie. Scott W. Michael
- Sepia latimanus, Broadclub Cuttlefish. Janine Cairns-Michael
[edit] The Mollusks
Clams, Oysters, Squids, Octopuses, Snails
Number of Living Species: 50,000.
'Common Characteristics: Many secrete a protective dorsal shell of calcium carbonate, although in some groups the shell is much reduced or absent; an anatomical feature in most is the radula, a rasping band covered with rows of teeth; marine mollusks typically have well-developed gills; ventral surface is usually a mucus-secreting foot, a muscular organ used for creeping locomotion; sizes range from minuscule (snails) to the world’s largest invertebrates (giant squids).
Noteworthy Behaviors: the generalized marine mollusk is a grazer, moving across the substrate and scraping algae (and other organisms) with its beltlike radula; although many are slow-moving or live attached to substrate, the squids include the fastest-recorded aquatic invertebrates (up to 40 km/hr.).
[edit] Chitons
Class Polyplacophora (Chitons): 800 species
[edit] Bivalves
Class Bivalvia (Clams, Oysters, Mussels): 7,700 species
[edit] Sea Slugs and Nudibranchs
Suborder Nudibranchia: 3,000+ species.
[edit] Snails
Class Gastropoda (Snails, Slugs): 30,000 species
[edit] Squids and Cuttlefishes
Class Cephalopoda (Nautiluses, Cuttlefishes, Squids, Octopuses): 600 species
From: Reef Life by Denise Nielsen Tackett