Under the sea live over 50,000 species of mollusks. Mollusks include sea snails, squid, octopus, clams, oysters and mollusks. These animals all look different, but their bodies are similar. Mollusks have three body parts – the head, a visceral mass and the foot. The head holds the brain and sensing organs, like eyes. The visceral mass is where the animal digests its food. The foot is the part that moves along on the ocean floor.
Many mollusks have a rough tongue that feels like sandpaper. They use this tongue to scrape food off a rock or other surface. Many mollusks have shells. The shells are hard and strong.
Fun Facts about Sea Mollusks for Kids
- Bivalvia is a group of mollusks that have two shells. These include clams, oysters, mollusks and scallops. They filter tiny bits of plants and animals through their shells to eat.
- Clams, oysters and other members of the bivalvia family have a foot that can move out of the shell. The foot pushes along through the mud or sand so the animal can move.
- Squid don’t have shells on the outside of their bodies. They have a shell inside their bodies called a pen.
- Squid suck water in through a tube called a siphon. They shoot the water out to move. They can move in any direction. They move fast.
- One octopus is called an octopus. More than one are called octopods.
- Both squid and octopods can squirt ink if they’re in danger. The ink hides them so they can escape.
- Squid and octopods are carnivores. They eat other sea animals.
- Some octopods are venomous.
Sea Mollusk Vocabulary
- Similar: things that are like each other
- Sandpaper: a rough paper that is coated with sand
- Scrape: roughly lift or remove something
- Carnivore: an animal that eats meat
- Venomous: injects poison into its victim
Learn More All About Sea Mollusks
Here’s a video about sea mollusks:
A documentary explaining the sea mollusks and their types.
Sea Mollusk Q&A
Question: How do octopods eat?
Answer: Octopods have a sharp beak on their mouths that they used to break food.
Question: Do people eat mollusks?
Answer: Clams often wash up on the beach, where people catch them. People eat shelled mollusks, as well as octopus and squid. Calamari is octopus tentacles.
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