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molluscan

molluscan

1 7.9
A soft-bodied animal with no backbone, like a snail or octopus
  • noun
  • /mɒˈlʌskən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : molusco
  • Known to scientists as Zonitoides arboreus, the molluscan marauders are hard to detect and even harder to kill with commercial chemicals, according to Agricultural Research Service biologist Robert G. Hollingsworth.
  • molluscan shellfish

Examples

  • Oysters, clams, and mussels are examples of molluscan animals that are often harvested for food.

  • Oysters, clams, and mussels are considered aquaculture species because of the amount of management that goes into maintaining productive molluscan shellfish beds.

    Academic text (2005)
  • At present, two models have been proposed for molluscan shell formation, but neither of them is accurate enough.

    Blog text (31)
  • Extrapolating from our work to other taxa is unwieldy because there is no part of a molluscan brain homologous to any part of a vertebrate brain.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Many researchers study the growth patterns of molluscan species to understand marine biodiversity.

  • The aquarium displayed a variety of molluscan creatures, including snails and octopuses.

Synonyms

mollusk
vsmolluscan
  • US
11 5.6

A soft-bodied animal like a snail or clam that often has a shell

is the same group expressed in a different word form or spelling

Surface Forms

molluscan singular
molluscans plural

Etymology

A molluscan as a name comes from Latin mollis 'soft' and the word mollusc. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the English verb mollify ('soften')—a molluscan is a 'soft' animal such as a snail or an octopus.