Table of Contents
- 1 What organs do mollusks eat?
- 2 Are Mollusca carnivores?
- 3 Which body openings does a mollusk have?
- 4 What are the three body parts of a mollusk?
- 5 Do molluscs eat seaweed?
- 6 Do bivalve molluscs eat zooplankton?
- 7 What Colour is Mollusca blood?
- 8 What is Mollusca body plan?
- 9 What are the 3 types of mollusks?
- 10 What are the important characteristics of Mollusca?
What organs do mollusks eat?
The radula is a feeding organ with teeth made of chitin. It is located in front of the mouth in the head region. Herbivorous mollusks use the radula to scrape food such as algae off rocks. Predatory mollusks use the radula to drill holes in the shells of their prey.
Are Mollusca carnivores?
Mollusks can either be carnivores, herbivores, filter feeders, detritus feeders, or parasites. Mollusks are also eaten by humans and by other animals. Snails, clams, scallops, mussels, oysters, squid, and octopus are the most popular mollusks foods.
Do mollusks eat plankton?
Mollusks eat a variety of organisms (see below). – Bivalves – A sub-group of mollusks that includes clams, mussels, scallops and oysters. Bivalves live on the ocean floor and feed on plankton (they are filter feeders). – Gastropods – A sub-group of mollusks, including snails, nudibranchs and abalone.
Which body openings does a mollusk have?
The body is enclosed between two valves (shells), which are opened by a hinge ligament. This wedge-shaped body plan is an adaptation for burrowing in soft sand. The shells are closed and held together by a pair of strong muscles called adductor muscles, located at either end of the shell.
What are the three body parts of a mollusk?
In general, mollusks have 3 body regions: a head, a visceral mass, and a “foot.” The head contains the sense organs and “brain,” while the visceral mass contains the internal organs. The “foot” is the muscular lower part of the body which is in contact with the substrate.
Is a mollusk a herbivore?
Most molluscs are herbivorous, grazing on algae or filter feeders. For those grazing, two feeding strategies are predominant.
Do molluscs eat seaweed?
They attack their prey by making a hole through the shell, and ingest their soft body parts. Conchs, which are large-sized sea snails, feed upon living seaweed, algae, and organic debris.
Do bivalve molluscs eat zooplankton?
Feeding with wide range of food sources bivalves directly influence not only phytoplankton community but also bacterioplankton and zooplankton commu- nities.
What is the function of Mollusca?
Mollusks have a muscular foot, which is used for locomotion and anchorage, and varies in shape and function, depending on the type of mollusk under study. In shelled mollusks, this foot is usually the same size as the opening of the shell. The foot is a retractable as well as an extendable organ.
What Colour is Mollusca blood?
blue blood
Most molluscs have blue blood because their respiratory molecule is hemocyanin, a type-3 copper-binding protein that turns blue upon oxygen binding. Molluscan hemocyanins are huge cylindrical multimeric glycoproteins that are found freely dissolved in the hemolymph.
What is Mollusca body plan?
The body plan of a mollusk usually consists of a head region, a muscular foot, and a visceral mass of internal organs that is often contained within a dorsal shell.
What are facts about mollusks?
Facts About Mollusks. Mollusks are interesting creatures that are found almost in all kinds of weathers with or without shells. Snails, squids, shellfish and their relatives belong to the mollusk group. Mollusks are soft-bodied invertebrates that have shells to protect them.
What are the 3 types of mollusks?
The three main types of mollusks most people are familiar with are: cephalopods – squid, octupus, etc; gastropods – snails and slugs including abalone ; and bivalves – like clams, oysters, and scallops. But there are five other living classes of mollusks and two extinct classes.
What are the important characteristics of Mollusca?
One of the characteristics of mollusca is having a soft body and is protected by a hard shell that is bilaterally symmetrical.
What do mollusks eat?
The mollusk makes its meal out of mostly plant matter. They will eat seaweed and seagrass and occasionally they will eat. Some mollusk species do eat meat dining on crabs, shellfish and small fish.