Mollusca (Noun)
Meaning
Gastropods; bivalves; cephalopods; chitons.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- Mollusca is a large and diverse phylum that includes creatures like squid and cuttlefish within the cephalopod class and slow-moving snails in the gastropod class.
- The Mollusca phylum is exclusively made up of marine and freshwater animals such as oysters and mussels in the bivalves class, and more obscure animals like chitons.
- Chitons are known to be the most ancient surviving molluscs within the Mollusca phylum, often being attached to rocks by an adhesive secretion from their foot glands.
- Understanding the characteristics of Mollusca is essential to distinguish between the diverse molluscan classes such as cephalopods, bivalves, gastropods, and chitons.
- Marine mollusca, such as mussels, oysters and other bivalves together with the protected gastropods seashells form a critical component of marine ecosystems worldwide.