Mollusca: Learn about the characteristics

Learn about the characteristics, classification and examples of Mollusca , the second largest phylum of animals. Find out how they respire, feed, reproduce and have a blue or green blood. General characters of Phylum Mollusca The name Mollusca (in Latin mollis = soft), was first used by the French Zoologist, Cuvier in 1798 to describe squids and cuttlefish, animals whose shell is reduced and internal or entirely absent. It was only later that the true affinities between squids and multiform and other molluscs such as snails and bivalves were fully recongnised. Next to arthopods from biodiversity perspective, molluscs comprise the largest group of species. Over 160,000 species ... Learn about the diverse and abundant group of animals known as mollusks, which include clams, snails, squids, and octopuses. Explore their unique features, such as a muscular foot, a radula, and a shell, and how they are classified into seven classes. Mollusks or Molluscs are a group of soft-bodied invertebrates distributed across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. They belong to the phylum Mollusca , the second largest after Arthropoda, with around 76,000 extant species worldwide, accounting for around 23% of all marine species. The phylum derives its name from the Latin word mollis, which means ‘soft,’ referring to their body form.