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Mollusc Classes

The mollusc classes are the major divisions of the phylum Mollusca, which has at least 50,000 living species and more likely around 200,000, among them snails, octopuses, squid, clams, scallops, oysters and chitons. All molluscs have soft bodies that typically have a head region and a foot region, often covered by a hard shell or plates. GBIF names the classes Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Rostroconchia, Solenogastres, Monoplacophora, Caudofoveata and Cricoconarida, with Gastropoda by far the largest by descendant taxa. Monoplacophorans were thought extinct until one was found in 1952 off Costa Rica.

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Mollusc Classes
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UC Museum of Paleontology: The Mollusca
UC Museum of PaleontologyAn introduction
Quote, An introduction
Mollusca is one of the most diverse groups of animals on the planet
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GBIF Secretariat: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, children of Mollusca
GBIF Secretariat
  • Children of Mollusca
    "canonicalName":"Gastropoda","vernacularName":"snail","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","publishedIn":"Cuvier, G. (1795). Second Mémoire sur l’organisation et les rapports des animaux à sang blanc, dans lequel on traite de la structure des Mollusques et de leur division en ordre, lu à la société d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, le 11 prairial an troisième [30 May 1795]. Magazin Encyclopédique, ou Journal des Sciences, des Lettres et des Arts, 1795 [1. année] 2: 433-449. https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=66736","numDescendants":178463
  • Children of Mollusca: Bivalvia
    "canonicalName":"Bivalvia","vernacularName":"clam","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","publishedIn":"Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio Decima, Reformata [10th Revised Edition], Vol. 1: 824 Pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae., Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata, [iii], 824 p. Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm], 1758. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.542","numDescendants":49947
  • Children of Mollusca: Cephalopoda
    "canonicalName":"Cephalopoda","vernacularName":"cephalopods","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","publishedIn":"Cuvier, G. (1795). Second Mémoire sur l’organisation et les rapports des animaux à sang blanc, dans lequel on traite de la structure des Mollusques et de leur division en ordre, lu à la société d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, le 11 prairial an troisième [30 May 1795]. Magazin Encyclopédique, ou Journal des Sciences, des Lettres et des Arts, 1795 [1. année] 2: 433-449. https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=66736","numDescendants":30925
  • Children of Mollusca: Polyplacophora
    "canonicalName":"Polyplacophora","vernacularName":"chiton","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","numDescendants":2220
  • Children of Mollusca: Scaphopoda
    "canonicalName":"Scaphopoda","vernacularName":"tusk shell","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","publishedIn":"Bronn, H. G. (1862). Die Klassen und Ordnungen der Weichthiere (Malacozoa). Kopflose Weichthiere (Malacozoa Acephala) Weichthiere. Leipzig pp. 1306, 118: pl: https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=39319","numDescendants":1058
  • Children of Mollusca: Rostroconchia
    "canonicalName":"Rostroconchia","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","numDescendants":536
  • Children of Mollusca: Solenogastres
    "canonicalName":"Solenogastres","vernacularName":"solenogasters","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","publishedIn":"Gegenbaur, C. (1878). Grundriss der vergleichenden Anatomie. Zweite verbesserte Auflage. Leipzig, W. Engelmann. 655 p. https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=127115","numDescendants":508
  • Children of Mollusca: Monoplacophora
    "canonicalName":"Monoplacophora","vernacularName":"monoplacophorans","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","publishedIn":"Wenz, W. (1940). Ursprung und frühe Stammesgeschichte der Gastropoden. Archiv für Molluskenkunde 72: 1-110. https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=142504","numDescendants":504
  • Children of Mollusca: Caudofoveata
    "canonicalName":"Caudofoveata","vernacularName":"caudofoveates","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","publishedIn":"Boettger, C. R. (1956). Beiträge zur Systematik der Urmollusken (Amphineura). Zoologischer Anzeiger, Supplement, 19: 223-256. https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=39258","numDescendants":186
  • Children of Mollusca: Cricoconarida
    "canonicalName":"Cricoconarida","authorship":"","nameType":"SCIENTIFIC","rank":"CLASS","origin":"SOURCE","taxonomicStatus":"ACCEPTED","nomenclaturalStatus":[],"remarks":"","numDescendants":150
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Gastropod (Wikipedia)
Has Member: Gastropoda, Lead
Quote, Has Member: Gastropoda, Lead
Gastropods (; previously known as Univalves; class Gastropoda ) are a vast and diverse group of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca, comprising the animals commonly known as snails and slugs.
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Bivalvia (Wikipedia)
Has Member: Bivalvia, Lead
Quote, Has Member: Bivalvia, Lead
Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consisting of a hinged pair of half-shells known as valves.
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Cephalopod (Wikipedia)
Has Member: Cephalopoda, Lead
Quote, Has Member: Cephalopoda, Lead
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural κεφαλόποδες, kephalópodes; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus.
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Wikipedia: Chiton
Has Member: Polyplacophora, Lead
Quote, Has Member: Polyplacophora, Lead
Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( POL-ee-plə-KOF-ər-ə), formerly known as Amphineura.
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Monoplacophora (Wikipedia)
Has Member: Monoplacophora, Lead
Quote, Has Member: Monoplacophora, Lead
Monoplacophora , meaning "bearing one plate", is a paraphyletic class of molluscs with a cap-like shell, inhabiting deep sea environments.
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Tusk shell (Wikipedia)
Has Member: Scaphopoda, Lead
Quote, Has Member: Scaphopoda, Lead
Scaphopoda (; from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́φης (skáphēs) 'boat' and πούς (poús) 'foot') is a class of shelled marine molluscs (invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca), whose members are known as scaphopods () and commonly called tusk shells or tooth shells.
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