A Shell Is Cozy

A Shell Is Cozy — page 3 — Royal cloak scallop purple clam Royal thorny oyster Common tusk Mollusks are a group of shelled animals that include bivalves tusk shells and gastropods A shell A bivalve has two shells held together by a gummy hinge It can open and close like a door Tiara Venus A tusk shell sometimes called an elephant's tusk shell or elephant's tooth shell has two openings Sticky tentacles poke out from the larger end to pick up and carry food particles to its mouth Green tusk

A Shell Is Cozy — page 4 — showy is Painted snails Wavy turban snail Most gastropods have only one opening with a lid like door called an operculum that can be as thin as a fingernail This door quickly closes when the animal is in danger candy cane snaj Green turban

A Shell Is Cozy — page 5 — A shell is hatched Queen conch laying eggs In 3-5 days the eggs hatch into microscopic larvae Most mollusks begin life as eggs nestled in soil gently swaying on eelgrass snuggled up in egg capsules or coiled in long strands It takes 3-5 years for a queen conch to reach adult size 12 inches 30.5 centimetres The coiled egg strands of the queen conch may contain as many as half a million eggs 8-10 days later each larva develops 6 lobes that help it swim 21-40 days after hatching each larva goes through metamorphosis to become a tiny conch 1-2 millimetres Adult queen conch

A Shell Is Cozy — page 6 — and protective Digestive gland Kidney Stomach Heart Foot Mollusks have a fleshlike layer called a mantle that secretes calcium carbonate a shell building liquid that hardens upon contact with air or water With each coating the shell grows larger The mantle also protects the animal's soft organs Intestine Exoskeleton Mantle Gill Nerve cord Eyes Tentacles Mouth

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