page_title: Mollusc
hierarchical_section_title: Mollusc
context_page_description: Molluscs are an important phylum of invertebrate animals. Most of them are marine. They have huge numbers in-shore, that is, in shallow water. They are the largest marine phylum, with about 85,000 living species, 23% of all named marine organisms. They also occur in freshwater and on land.
  Mollusks are extremely varied: they have great diversity. That may be why there is no word in English for the phylum as a whole. "In an evolutionary sense, mollusks are plastic material". They have much more variety than their ancient rivals, the brachiopods.
  Most molluscs have shells, but some groups do not: octopods, slugs, and the gastropods known as sea slugs.
context_section_description: Molluscs (or mollusks) are an important phylum of invertebrate animals. Most of them are marine. They have huge numbers in-shore, that is, in shallow water. They are the largest marine phylum, with about 85,000 living species, 23% of all named marine organisms. They also occur in freshwater and on land.
  Mollusks are extremely varied: they have great diversity. That may be why there is no word in English for the phylum as a whole. "In an evolutionary sense, mollusks are plastic material". They have much more variety than their ancient rivals, the brachiopods.
  Most molluscs have shells, but some groups do not: octopods, slugs, and the gastropods known as sea slugs.
caption: Cypraea, the cowrie. About 80% of all known mollusc species are gastropods.
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