Did You Know?
Some mollusks can change color!
Shells
Some mollusks have hard shells to keep safe.
Soft Bodies
Some mollusks, like octopuses, are soft.
What mollusk Does
Mollusks eat plants and small fish.
They help clean the water.
Some make pearls in their shells.
They can move fast in water.
Some can live a long time.
They are fun to watch at the beach.
More About mollusk
Mollusks have been around for a long time. They lived with dinosaurs! Some are found in the sea, while others are on land. They are very good at hiding from danger.
We see mollusks in our lives. We eat some, like clams and snails. They help keep the ocean clean and are part of the food chain.
In the future, we can learn more about them. Scientists want to find new types of mollusks. They are still finding new ones today!
How Topics Connect
graph TD
A["Mollusca Phylum"] --> B["Protostomic Invertebrates"]
B --> C["Molluscs/Mollusks"]
C --> D["86,600 Extant Species"]
C --> E["2nd Largest Animal Phylum"]
D --> F["60,000 - 100,000 Fossil Species"]
F --> G["High Proportion Undescribed Species"]
G --> H["Poorly Studied Taxa"]
What Do These Words Mean?
phylum:A group of related animals or plants.
protostomic:An early stage of development in some animals where the mouth forms first.
invertebrate:An animal without a backbone.
extant:Still existing or living.
taxa:Groups of organisms used in classification.
