Classification

                                                            

Domain – Eukarya- the cells of this organism contain a nucleus and membrane-bound
                                       organelles
Kingdom – Animalia- this organism is multicellular, heterotrophic, and lacks cell walls allowing
                                            it to be motile
Phylum - Mollusca- a diverse group of invertebrates that have a mantle and contain classes
                                       such as gastropods, cephalopods and bivalves, most of which (but not all)
                                       also have a radula and a muscular foot
Class - Gastropoda- the largest group of the phylum Mollusca that contains the snails and
                                        slugs as well as limpets and conchs; this group is very morphologically
                                       diverse but all have undergone torsion(a 180 degree twist of the visceral
                                        mass)
Subclass - Prosobranchia- a polyphyletic group(so it is no longer used), but describes that
                                                    this class of snails has gills
Order - Mesogastropoda- a taxonomic group of mostly marine but some freshwater snails

 Family - Bithyniidae- this family of snails, including Bithynia tentaculata, live in freshwater,
                                           breathe through gills and have a colored shell with an operculum
Genus - Bithynia
Species - Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus, 1758)

This lineage located at: http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/animals_plants/mollusk/ilmollusks.html

Another good site for taxonomic information is:

(Campbell, et al. 8th ed.)

 

     This phylogenetic tree is based on molecular data from comparing ribosomal genes, Hox genes, protein-coding genes, and mitochondrial genes (Campbell, et al. 8th ed.). It shows the closest relatives of the phylum Mollusca are the other organisms in the clade Lophotrochozoa. This clade is based on the organisms having a lophophore (ciliated tentacles for feeding) or a trochophore larva stage (Campbell, et al. 8th ed.).

 

 

 

 

Photo by Udo Schmidt

 

This phylogenetic tree is based on fossilizable hard features and shows the relationship between the members of the phylum Mollusca.

                                                             

 

 

                                                                                                                                                      

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