Class Aplacophora:
Class Aplacophora have following key characteristics:
Habitat:
Aplacophorans are exclusively marine organisms and are found in various marine habitats, including deep-sea environments, seafloor sediments, and intertidal zones.
Deposit Feeders:
Many Aplacophorans are deposit feeders, consuming organic particles from sediments or detritus.
Radula:
Most Aplacophorans possess a radula which is used to scrape food particles from surfaces or capture prey.
Body Shape:
Aplacophorans have an elongated and vermiform (worm-like) body shape without a distinct head or shell.
Absence of Shell:
Aplacophorans lack a shell entirely. Instead, their body is covered with a thin cuticle that provides protection.
Foot:
They possess a muscular foot that is adapted for burrowing or creeping along the seabed.
Soft-Bodied:
Aplacophorans lack the hard external structures seen in many other mollusks. Their bodies are soft and often translucent.
Gas exchange:
Aplacophorans lack gills for respiration. Gas exchange occurs through the general body surface.
Presence of Rhabdites:
Aplacophorans have specialized cells called rhabdites that produce a mucus-like substance used for locomotion and protection.
Examples of class Aplacophora:
- Chaetoderma nitidulum
- Epimenia babai
- Prochaetoderma yongei
- Wirenia argentea
- Neomenia grisea
- Limifossor pseudobrauneri
- Prochaetoderma mariae
- Neomenia carinata
- Wirenia filiformis
List of Mollusca classes with examples
Phylum Mollusca is classified into seven major classes namely:
- Class Gastropoda
- Class Bivalvia
- Class Cephalopoda (intelligent marine animals)
- Class Polyplacophora (chitons)
- Class Scaphopoda (tusk shells)
- Class Monoplacophora
- Class Aplacophora (worm-like mollusks)