Mollusca- Bivalvia

Use this resource from UCMP to answer the questions about Bivalves related to diversity, environment, feeding, and more! Use this site for information about their life cycle.  

Bivalves are the double shelled animals from the phylum Mollusca! They are the second most diverse group of Molluscs (the gastropods being the first), and the third most diverse class of animals (remember, insects are first!). These animals play a HUGE role in water and coral reef health.

As an idea of their diversity, think about the movie Pirates of the Caribbean  Remember the crew of the Black Pearl? They were all covered in a wide variety of bivalves: 

Here is a general body plan for the bivalves:

Questions:

1. Give the Kingdom, phylum, and 6 important class names of bivalves. 
2. Where do bivalves live?
3. Describe the body plan of the bivalves (these are in detail on the website).
4. Remember, we said that the typical body plan "tool kit" of the molluscs includes 3 things. How does the bivalve body plan fit with that "tool kit"? - Does it have the same parts? What is different?
5. Can bivalves move? If so, how?
6. How do bivalves get nutrition and excrete waste?
7. Do bivalves have sensory function? If so - how do they know what is going on around them?
8. How do they reproduce? - What is their life cycle like?
9. Why are bivalves so important?