Mantle (mollusk)
A fold of tissue that covers a mollusk’s visceral mass and forms a mantle cavity. In many mollusks, mantle tissue secretes the shell.
Mantle cavity: A space between a mollusk’s mantle and visceral mass that commonly houses gills and openings for waste and reproductive products. This space is formed by the mantle and organizes several of its functions.
Visceral mass: The region of a mollusk containing most internal organs, including digestive, reproductive, and excretory systems. The mantle covers this organ-bearing body region.
Shell growth: The increase in a molluscan shell’s size through material deposited by mantle tissue. The mantle’s edge adds shell at the margin while other regions can thicken it.
Cephalopod shell: A shell in cephalopods, ranging from the external shell of nautiluses to reduced or internal structures in other groups. Cephalopods show how the mantle can enclose, reduce, or help internalize shell structures.
Shell formation: The biological production and growth of a shell by an animal, often through secretion of mineral and organic materials. Mantle tissue deposits the materials that build and repair many molluscan shells.
Mollusca: A large animal phylum that includes snails, clams, octopuses, and their relatives. The mantle is a defining body structure across the molluscan phylum.
Shell repair: The restoration of damaged shell material by a mollusk through secretion from mantle tissue. The mantle can cover injuries and deposit new shell layers.
Bivalve mantle fusion: The joining of the two mantle lobes along parts of their edges in some bivalves. Fusion creates a more enclosed mantle cavity than the broadly open condition in many mollusks.
Periostracum: The outer, often organic layer of a molluscan shell, produced by the mantle. This layer is secreted at the mantle edge and protects underlying shell layers.
Pallium (anatomy): A tissue layer in some animals; in mollusks, pallium is another name for the mantle. This anatomical term is commonly used as a synonym for the molluscan mantle.