Mollusks share all of the following characteristics:
*Adults are symmetrical
*They live in either water or moist terrestrial habitats
*All mollusks have soft bodies (mollus in Latin means "soft" for all of you Latin nerds) although some mollusks have a shell which provides some amount of protection.
*They have a complex nervous system- varying in complexity between the different species
*Mollusks all share a similar basic body plan comprised of three distinct divisions:
- The Headfoot which contains both the sensory and motor organs
- The Visceral Mass which contains the digestion, excretion, and reproduction organs
- The Mantle which is a specialized muscle tissue that hangs over the visceral mass. The space between the mantle and visceral mass is the mantle cavity which contains the mollusk's gills, anus, and also acts as the respiratory chamber
The main groups of mollusks include: Bivalvia, Gastropods, Cephalods
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