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Taxonomic Phyla and Classes
Other non-Molluscan Phyla (Echinodermata, Brachiopoda etc) are being added to the checklist and photo sections of the website. This is to help identify species that may be mistaken for Mollusca, but are not.

Phylum: Mollusca

Monoplacophora

Monoplacophora

A group of small, deep-water, limpet-like molluscs. All species show a variable number of serially repeated gills and eight sets of dorsoventral pedal retractor muscles
Polyplacophora

Polyplacophora

Chitons. Limpet shaped animals which attach themselves to solid surfaces. The shell is divided into 8 small plaits or valves, running along the back of the animal, which are embedded in the mantle and surrounding girdle
Gastropoda

Gastropoda

The largest and most highly varied class of molluscs. Most with a single shell, usually coiled in a right-hand spiral. Some species have a simple cap-shaped shell, some only an internal remnant, or in some (slugs and nudibranchs), the shell is absent.
Scaphopoda

Scaphopoda

Tusk Shells have a tapered tube-like shell, open at each end. At the wide end is the plug-like foot of the animal, and the head from which extend bunches of slender tentacles. The animal burrown in sand or mud, and feeds on foraminifers, the larvae of other shellfish and micro-organisms
Bivalvia

Bivalvia

Shells consisting of two valves, hinged by an elastic ligament and held closed by a pair of adductor muscles. Usually bilaterally symetrical, except in a few families in which one valve may become cemented to a solid surface
Cephalopoda

Cephalopoda

This class includes the extinct Ammonites and Belemnites, the living Cuttlefish, Octopus, Squids and Argonauts. Most are soft bodied, but some have an external shell (Nautilus, Argonauta), or internal shell (Spirula)

Phylum: Brachiopoda

Rhynchonellata

Rhynchonellata

Brachiopods or Lamp Shells are not Molluscs, but an ancient group of invertebrates

Phylum: Echinodermata

Asteroidea

Asteroidea

Starfish or Sea Stars. Usually star-shaped with a central disc, and five arms, however some may have up to 11 or more arms
Ophiuroidea

Ophiuroidea

Commonly called Brittle Stars, the Ophiuroidea are star-shaped echinoderms with a distinct central disc, and usually five slender arms
Echinoidea

Echinoidea

Sea Eggs, Kina and Sea Urchins belong to the group Echinoidea
Holothuroidea

Holothuroidea

Sea Cucumbers. Usually soft and leathery, without a solid skeleton

Phylum: Arthropoda

Hexanauplia

Hexanauplia

Barnacles are Crustaceans, related to crabs, shrimps and crayfish. They use their feathery limbs to filter food out of the water
Key to Geographical Ranges
NZ Map showing Geographical Ranges
The symbols K.A.C.F.M.An. are used to indicate the geographical range of the species. They have been adopted to give an approximation of the range of each species within New Zealand.
K=
Kermadec Islands
A=
Aupourian - Kaipara Harbour, north around North Cape, encompassing the Three Kings Islands and south to East Cape
C=
Cookian - Lower North Island and the northern part of the South Island
F=
Forsterian - Otago, Fiordland and Stewart Island
M=
Moriorian - Chatham Islands, Pitt Island
An=
Antipodean - Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand
Fw =
Freshwater
L =
Land
N =
North Island
S =
South Island
E =
Endemic
I =
Introduced
R =
Recent
Sf =
Subfossil
Fo =
Fossil