Seat 1: Grab a dissecting tray and specimen

from the back counter.

Seat 3: Grab ONE glove for each person at

your table
Introducing P. Mollusca

1. List 5 observations about the specimen at your

table.
2. Predict: circulatory system, eating/digestion,
reproduction, and nervous system.
3. List what you know about phylum Mollusca.
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Big Idea #2: Form and Function
I. Basic Structure
• Can be marine or
terrestrial

• Bilateral symmetry

• Usually have definite

head
I. Basic Structure
• Ventral body wall
specialized as foot
• Dorsal body wall
forms mantle
– Some mantles will
secrete shell
– Mantle contains gills or
lungs
II. Eating Digestion
• Complex: mouth,
stomach, intestine,
anus
• Usually have a radula
(rasping organ)
• Separate mouth &
anus
• Anus empties into
mantle cavity
 III. Circulatory System
• Open circulatory
system in most
classes
– Except Cephalopods
• Three chambered
heart (usually)
• Blood vessels
(arteries) and sinuses
(open spaces)
IV. Gas Exchange/Waste Excretion
• Gas Exchange:
occurs in lungs
(snails), gills, mantle
or body surface
• Waste Excretion:
One – two kidneys
(metanephridia)
– Empty into mantle
cavity
V. Nervous System
• Paired ganglia (nerve
bundles) at head, lungs,
foot, and organs
• Sensory organs of touch,
smell, taste, equilibrium,
and vision
– Eyes highly developed
in Cephalopods

Use of chromatophores!
VI. Reproduction
• Sexual reproduction

• Can be dioecious (two

separate genders) or
monoecious
(hermaphroditic)
– Depends on class
Skip to ~2 30 min for squid courtship
VII. Classification
• 8 Classes
• You will need to know about
3:
1. Class Gastropoda
(Gastro = stomach, Poda =
foot; Snails)
2. Class Bivalvia
(Bi=2, valvia = valves;
Clams, oysters)
3. Class Cephalopoda
(Cepha = head, poda =
foot; Squid, octopi)
 Big Idea #3: Ecology

True Facts of the

Octopus:
Ecology
• Food source: plankton, algae, plants, decaying
matter, shellfish/crustaceans
• Predators: crustaceans, starfish, fish, birds
• Defenses: shell, camouflage, toxins, ink
• Interactions: cycle decaying material
• Human use: culinary, religious worship
Octopus versus Shark