Auto dealers, electronic stores, fast food chains are all categorized. Most children can sort a pile of seashells into fairly correct relationships simply by comparing shapes. The following Classification Hierarchy chart is a visual aid to understanding how scientists classify living things. Follow the chart from left to right and down. The road to classifying a living organism begins with its placement in a kingdom.
Molluscs are animals so they belong to the animal kingdom.
Within the animal kingdom there are two sub-kingdoms or branches. The invertebrate subkingdom contains many groups called phyla. The name Mollusca comes from the Latin word molluscus meaning soft. The phylum Mollusca is made up of animals that have no backbone and possess internal cavities containing the heart, kidneys and gonads. Most molluscs have a hard exterior shell that is produced by the mantle, a fleshy fold of the body, however some, such as the slugs, have no shell at all.