Mollusca

Mollusca Temporal range: Cambrian Stage 2–Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Tonicella lineata, a polyplacophoran or chiton, anterior end taewart the richt
Scientific classification
Kinrick:	Animalia
Superphylum:	Lophotrochozoa
Phylum:	Mollusca Linnaeus, 1758
Diversity[1]
85,000 recognised leevin species.

Mollusca composes the muckle phylum o invertebrate ainimals kent as the Molluscs. Mollusca is the second muckle maist phylum o the hale ainimal kinrick wi aroond 85,000 extant species o molluscs recognised^[2]. Molluscs is the mucklest marine phylum, comprisin aroond 23% o aa the named marine organisms. Numerous molluscs bide in freshwatter an terrestrial habitats as weel. Thay is gey diverse, no anely in size an in anatomical structur, but in behaviour and in habitat as weel.

The wird "mollusc" cams frae the Laitin wird mollis , meanin "saft". The studie o molluscs is cried malacologie, frae the Auncient Greek μαλακός malakós, thit means saft as weel.

Molluscs wis thocht lang syne tae be pairt o a muckler taxon cried Molluscoida, "alike molluscs". This taxon haed athin it the brachiopods, bryozoans an tunicates. It is kent noo that thay cam frae unco sindry ancestries^[3].

1. ↑ Chapman, A.D. (2009). Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World, 2nd edition. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Retrieved 2010-01-12. ISBN 978-0-642-56860-1 (printed); ISBN 978-0-642-56861-8 (online).
2. ↑ Rosenberg, Gary (2014). "A new critical estimate of named species-level diversity of the recent mollusca". American Malacological Bulletin. 32 (2): 308–322. doi:10.4003/006.032.0204.
3. ↑ Chrisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911) "Molluscoida", Encyclopaedia Britannica, 18, (11th Ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 675.