Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Mollusk |
MolluskNoun1. Invertebrate having a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a shell. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "mollusk" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1870. (references) |
Etymology: Mollusk \Mol"lusk\, noun. [French expression mollusque, from Latin expression mollusca kind of soft nut with thin shell, from molluscus soft, mollis soft. See Mollify.]. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Mollusks Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Classes Caudofoveata
Aplacophora (solenogasters)
Polyplacophora (chitons)
Monoplacophora
Bivalvia (bivalves)
Scaphopoda (tusk shells)
Gastropoda (snails and slugs)
Cephalopoda (squids, octopuses, etc)
The mollusks or molluscs are a large and diverse phylum of Animals, including a variety of familiar creatures, well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. These range from tiny snails and clams to the octopus and squid (which are considered the most intelligent invertebrates). The giant squid is the largest invertebrate, and, except for their larvae and some recently captured juveniles, has never been observed alive.
Mollusks are triploblastic protostomes. The principal body cavity is a blood-filled hemocoel, with an actual coelom present but reduced to vestiges around the hearts, gonads, and metanephridia (kidney-like organs). The body is divided into a head, often with eyes or tentacles, a muscular foot and a visceral mass housing the organs. Covering the body is a thick sheet called the mantle, which in most forms secretes a calcareous shell.
Development passes through one or two trocophore stages, one of which (the veliger) is unique to the group. These suggest a close relationship between the mollusks and various other protostomes, notably the Annelids. Mollusk fossils are some of the best known and are found from the Cambrian onwards. There are eight living classes:
- Class Caudofoveata (deep-sea wormlike creatures; 70 known species)
- Class Aplacophora (solenogasters, deep-sea wormlike creatures; 250 species)
- Class Polyplacophora (chitons; 600 species, rocky marine shorelines)
- Class Monoplacophora (deep-sea limpet-like creatures; 11 living species)
- Class Bivalvia (also Pelecypoda) (clams, oysters, scallops, mussels; 8,000 species)
- Class Scaphopoda (tusk shells; 350 species, all marine)
- Class Gastropoda (snails and slugs, limpets, sea hares; sea butterfly, Sea Lemon; 40,000 species)
- Class Cephalopoda (squids, octopuses, nautilus, cuttlefish; 650 species, all marine)
Caudofoveata Aplacophora hypothetical Polyplacophora ancestral Monoplacophora mollusk Gastropoda Cephalopoda Bivalvia Scaphopoda Brusca & Brusca (1990) suggest that the bivalves and scaphopods are sister groups, as are the gastropods and cephalopods, so indicated in the relationship diagram above.
Malacology is the technical name for the scientific study of mollusks.
References
- Brusca & Brusca, 1990. Invertebrates, Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Mass.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Mollusk."
Synonyms: MolluskSynonyms: mollusc (n), shellfish (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Animal | Mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, crustacean, shellfish, mollusk, worm, insect, arthropod, microbe. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Okay, a mollusk walks up to this sea cucumber, well he doesn't actually walk, he's just there, and he turns to the sea cucumber, and Well, wait, there's a mollusk and a sea cucumber and (Finding Nemo; writing credit: Andrew Stanton) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
References | |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Hooded Nudibranch, Melibe leonina, is also called the Lion Nudibranch. This mollusk is almost transparent with a slight yellowish-green cast. Unlike other nudibranchs, Melibe have no radula and M. Leonina has no jaws. It uses its oral hood, lined with 2 rows of tentacles to capture prey. Found in offshore kelpbeds and eelgrass meadows. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR). |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Bahamas | Reserved businesses include: wholesale and retail operations; commission agencies engaged in the import/export trade; real estate and domestic property management agencies; domestic newspaper and magazine publication; domestic advertising and public relations firms; nightclubs and restaurants (except specialty, gourmet and ethnic restaurants and restaurants operating in a hotel, resort complex or tourist attraction); security services; domestic distribution and building supplies; construction companies (except for special structures for which international expertise is required); personal cosmetics/beauty establishments; shallow water scalefish; crustacean; mollusk and sponge fishing operations; auto and appliance service operations; and public transportation. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
Expressions using "mollusk": cephalopod mollusk ♦ dibranchiate mollusk ♦ mollusk family ♦ mollusk genus ♦ Mollusk Venoms ♦ naked mollusk. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "mollusk": mollusk-shaped. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
mollusk | 71 |
bivalve mollusk | 34 |
mollusk picture | 7 |
mollusk va | 6 |
mollusk nautilus | 3 |
gastropod mollusk | 3 |
argonauta mollusk | 3 |
mollusk shell | 2 |
mollusk squid | 2 |
diagram mollusk | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "mollusk"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | gocë deti (mollusc, oyster, scallop, scollop, shellfish). (various references) | |
Arabic | رخوي حيوان من الرخو يات كالحلزون. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | мекотело (jellyfish, mollusc). (various references) | |
Chinese | 软"动物 (mollusc, Molluscan). (various references) | |
Czech | mìkkýš (mollusc). (various references) | |
Farsi | حلزون . (various references) | |
French | mollusque (mollusc, molluscous). (various references) | |
German | molluske, weichtier (mollusc). (various references) | |
Greek | μαλάκιο (mollusc), οστρακόδερμο (crustacean, shellfish). (various references) | |
Hebrew | רכיכ". (various references) | |
Hungarian | puhatestű (mollusc). (various references) | |
Italian | mollusco (clam, mollusc, shellfish). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 軟"動物 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | な"たいどうぶつ. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | olluskmay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | molusco (borer, clam, cockle, mollusc). (various references) | |
Russian | моллюск (clam, mollusc, shellfish). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | mekušac (cissy, milksop, mollusc, molly, mollycoddle, molly-coddle, softy). (various references) | |
Spanish | molusco (mollusc). (various references) | |
Turkish | molüsk (mollusc), yumuşakçalar (mollusc), yumuşakça (mollusc, soft, sweetly). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | concha. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "mollusk": molluskan, mollusks. (additional references) | |
| |
"Mollusk" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Mallock, mallus, Mallusk, Melluci, melluish, moblusk, mollas, molloys, molluscum, molluska, molook, molusk, Muluzi. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "mollusk" (pronounced mÄ"lusk) |
| 3 | -u s k | damask. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "k-l-l-m-o-s-u" | |
-2 letters: molls, mulls, skull, solum. | |
-3 letters: lums, moll, mols, mosk, mull, musk, slum, souk, soul, sulk, sumo. | |
-4 letters: kos, lum, mol, mos, mus, oms, sol, som, sou, sum. | |
-5 letters: lo, mo, mu, om, os, so, um, us. | |
| Words containing the letters "k-l-l-m-o-s-u" | |
+1 letter: mollusks, mullocks. | |
+2 letters: molluskan. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
