Mollusca Flashcards
3 unique characterisitcs of Mollusca
Mantle
Radula
Foot
Mantle
In molluscs, forms a surface or dorsal epithelium which produces calcareous spicules or shells
Radula
In molluscs, feeding organ made up of cuticular band of teeth (lost in bivalves)
- feedi my structure contaiing rows of sharp, chitinous teeth
- radula has a firm ribbon, made of chotin and protein with rows of teeth
Foot in molluscs
Formed from the ventral body wall for locomotion
Second largest animal phyum is
Moluscs
100,000+ species
Molluscs include fmailiar names like
Clams, snails, slugs, squids, chitons, and tusk shells
Body plan of molluscs
Soft, triploblastic, bilaterlaly symmestrical
Molluscs have _____ organs
Visceral
Under
Visceral mass of molluscs is covered by a fold of skin called a ____
Mantle, a thin, fleshy fold of dorsal body wall covering the body. It encloses a space between itself and the body which is callrd the mantle cavity
Coelom of molluscs
Is greatly reduced. It is restricted to the pericardial cavity and to small spaces within kidneyes and gonads. Spaces amongst the viscera contain blood and form haemocoel
Molluscs have shells conisiting primarily of ____
Clacium carbonate set in a protein matrix
-organic material may comprime about 35% of the shells dry weight in soke gastropod speices and up to 70% of the dry weight in bivalves
Shells have 3 layers:
- Periostracum: outer organic layer which is thin
- Prismatic layer: calcarous, thick middle layer
- Nacreous layer: calcareous inner layer which is thin
Ctenidia
Mollusc gills
- present in the mantle cavity
- used for respiration; could serve as food collection and sorting
- serve as outlet for digestive, reproductive and excretory systems
Apart from cephalopods, respiration in molluscs is via…
A countercurrent mechanism (blood and water flowing in opposite directions)
Afferent vessels carry deoxygenated blood to the ctenidia to be oxygenated.
Efferent vessels carry blood to oxygenated blood from the ctenidia to the heart and other organs
Osphradium
Chemoreceptor/tactile (touch) organ
-lies adjacent to the ctenidium
In molluscs
Odontophore
In molluscs, cartilaginous structure that support the radula
Hemocoel
First phylum to have it
In molluscs, known as the blood csvity
- serve as a hydrostatic skeleton; provide support and movement for some molluscs
- molluscs vary in size from microscopic form to 12m long squids
Blood is blue
2 subphylums of molluscs
Aculifera: members have calcareous spicules in ondividual cells in mantle cavity.
Conchifera: lack spicules and mantle tissues secrete one to many clacerous shells.
Aculifera classes
Polyplacophora: consists of chitons, snial like molluscs with 8 part overlappijg scale shells.
Aplacophora: some have slender foot; radula may be present or absent
Conchifera classes
Monoplacophora: one family: Neopilina galantheae, Micropilina arntzi
Gastropoda: True snails and slugs (most diverse class in molluscs)
Bivalvia: molluscs with hinged two-part shells (clams, oysters, mussels, scallops)
Cephalopoda: Molluscs with large heads, large eyes and grasping tentacles (octopus, squid, cuttlefish)
Scaphopoda: Tooth shells and tusk shells
Polyplacophora
Bear an armorlike, eight plated dorsal sell. Have broad ventral foot that is adapted for suction to rocks and other substrates and a mantle that extended byond the shell in the form of a girdle
-commonly known as chitons
Polyplacophorans lack which parts?
Real head, eyes and tentacles around mouth
Body plan of Polyplacophora
Elongated, bilaterally symmetrical flattened body and a broad ventral foot
- mantle bearing cuticular spicules covers at least a great part of the body
- mouth lies centrally in a reduced head, the anal and excretory apertures are posterior
Nervous system of Polyplacophora
Ladder-like with slightly developed ganglia
Aesthetes
In polyplacophora, sensory light receptor secreted by the mantle tissue that can peotrude through shell holes
Habitat of Polyplacophora
- shoreline; some inhabit the intertidal zone (area between the high and low tide)
- abundant and important aspect of the sea floor.
- can be at shore or deep water
Movement of Polyplacophora
Accomplished by subtle waves of muscular activity called pedal waves
When disturbed, the chiton can press the ___
Girdle tightly against the substrate, then lift the central portion of the foot to create suction.
Chitons can also generate suction aided by ____
Mucus secretions that holds the animal tightly against the substratum.
Adaptive to heavy wave function habitat
Mouth organization of Polyplacophora
- the mouth of chitons has no tentacles, but has a veil of muscular tissue derived from the mantle. Feed with radula like all molluscs.
- 13-17 teeth per row ahd 24-150 rows
- some teeth capped with magnetite (iron compound that makes the teeth much harder).
- Radula used as a scrapper, or grater to remove small particles of food
Feeding of Polyplacophora
Food is drawn into the buccal cavity and moved along the oesophagus by mucus flow. The oesophagus is short, and leads to the rouded stomach, from which it is separated by a muscular sphincter. From the stomach the food moves in tbe intestines which leads to the posterior anus.
Feeding habits of Polyplacophora
Shows 7 feeding behaviours and food preferences
- omnivorous grazers: most common in chitons
- herbivarores: feed on plants, mostly algae (seaweed)
- detritivores: consume various mayter on the sea floor
- carnivorous grazers: feed on sessile aniamls like barnacles and corals
- spongivores: feed ok sponges
- xylophagous: feed on wood
- true predators: trap and pret on small invertebrates for food
Polyplacophora Reproduction
- Motly dioecious (non hermaphrodic)
- chrions have 1 single gonad which released ova or sperm through paried gonopores into mantle cavity. Gonopores are forward of the nephriopores.
- fertilization in open water or in mantle cavity of female. Some retain eggs and brood in mantle cavity.
- fertilized eggs develop into trochophore larvae. In non brooding species these have short, free swimming life before becoming young chiton.
- brooding species, trochophore larvae either remain in females mantle cavitt until they turn to young chitons or depart to join the oceans zooplankton
Class Aplacophora meaning
Without plate (no shell)
Class Aplacophora body type
typically possess worm like body
- body is unsegmented; outer cuticle possess many calcareous spines and scales
- typically lack visible foot
- small to medium sized (1mm-30cm)
- no head, nephridia (excretoy system) or shell
- all have dorsal gonad rather than posterior gonad
Class Aplacophora habitat
All marine
Sediment of icean floor
Is there a fossil record of Aplacophora
Nope
Nervouse system of Aplacophora
Basic and ladder like (with two cross connected chords) with well developed cerebral ganglion
Aplacophorans burrowing
- Inhabit depths from 16-17,390’
- one geoup live on hydroids (cnidarians), corals or oceans bottom
- other group burrows into ocean bottom and lives inside their tunnels upside down
Aplacophorans locomotion
- no well developed muscular foot
- move slowly with tiny bristles on their bodies called cilia or on a track of mucus produced by a groove underneath their body
- mucous ease the way for the worm-like molluscs as it glides over the track
Aplacophorans feeding
- head is poorly defined; visceral mass consists of a very simple and straight digestive system
- food is taken in, passes theough the circumpharyngeal muscle into the oral cavity where the radula rasps it
- fine food particles then pass into a single midgut organ that considts of a stomach and digestive gland. A short intestine absorbs the nutrients before the waste passes into the cloaca