Mollusca
There are many Mollusca on the planet, ranging from well-known species such as, snails, octopuses, squid, clams, scallops, to lesser-known groups such as the monoplacophorans.
These creatures have soft bodies that are covered by a rigid exoskeleton. This skeleton looks like a shell, and although they don’t have distinct bodily features, you could still see regions that look like their head and their foot. Mollusca are popular among humans for providing food, jewelry, tools and even pets. To some, their shells are valuable due to its vibrant colors. Even though Mollusca are useful to some, they are also annoying to others, especially the garden snail.
These creatures have soft bodies that are covered by a rigid exoskeleton. This skeleton looks like a shell, and although they don’t have distinct bodily features, you could still see regions that look like their head and their foot. Mollusca are popular among humans for providing food, jewelry, tools and even pets. To some, their shells are valuable due to its vibrant colors. Even though Mollusca are useful to some, they are also annoying to others, especially the garden snail.
The Garden Snail
The snail’s digestive system starts with its buccal mass. The buccal mass is its mouth and is used to intake the food. After going through the mount, it then passes through the radula, where it is grinded and cut into pieces. The snail uses its jaw to hold the food in place while the radula does its job. The oesophagus is connected to the stomach and is used to transport the crushed up food from the radula to the sack-shaped stomach.
The Octopus
There are different parts of the octopus that has different functions that helps the octopus digest its food. Like the garden snail, the octopus uses its beaks to eat, and the food goes to its baccul mass. Afterwards, it slips through the anterior salivary glands straight into the esophagus where it enters the stomach. The stomach is lined up with rough sides to grind up the food and break apart the food’s cells to get its nutrients.
Squid
The squid has a similar digestive system to the other molluscas mentioned above. It's stomach is lined up with rough sides to break down the food to get its nutrients. It's throat, also known as the esophagus is covered with slimy mucus, so the food will stay in it until the radula grinds it up and sends it over to the stomach.