[mol-uh
sk] 
| any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, typically having a calcareous shell of one, two, or more pieces that wholly or partly enclose the soft, unsegmented body, including the chitons, snails, bivalves, squids, and octopuses. |
[muh-luhs-kuhn] , adjective, noun | mol·lusc (mŏl'əsk) n. Variant of mollusk. |
| mol·lusk also mol·lusc (mŏl'əsk) n. Any of numerous chiefly marine invertebrates of the phylum Mollusca, typically having a soft unsegmented body, a mantle, and a protective calcareous shell and including the edible shellfish and the snails. [French mollusque, from New Latin Mollusca, phylum name, from neuter pl. of Latin molluscus, thin-shelled, from mollis, soft; see mel-1 in Indo-European roots.] mol·lus'cous (mə-lŭs'kəs) adj. |
| mollusk or mollusc (mŏl'əsk) Pronunciation Key
Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Mollusca, usually living in water and often having a hard outer shell. They have a muscular foot, a well-developed circulatory and nervous system, and often complex eyes. Mollusks include gastropods (snails and shellfish), slugs, octopuses, squids, and the extinct ammonites. Mollusks appear in the fossil record in the early Cambrian Period, but it is not known from what group they evolved. |