Question

Mollusca have............. type of reproduction
A. Asexual
B. Sexual
C. Both (A) and (B)
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Reproduction implies reproducing. It is a biological mechanism by which an organism reproduces a biologically comparable offspring to the organism. Reproduction, generation after generation, allows and guarantees the continuity of organisms. After Arthropoda, Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate species.

Complete answer:
Molluscs are mostly of different sexes, and reproductive organs (gonads) are simple in nature. Also found among gastropods of the subclass Prosobranchia is reproduction through an unfertilized gamete (parthenogenesis). Most reproduction is through sexual means, however. Members of certain (primitive species release eggs and sperm into the water, and fertilisation happens there. Male and female gonads are functional in hermaphroditic bivalves and prosobranch gastropods at different times and in rhythmic and sequential patterns (successive hermaphroditism).

Conversely, in Solenogastres and many other gastropods, male and female gonads are simultaneously functional (simultaneous hermaphroditism). In cephalopods and some gastropods, fertilisation by transfer of sperm-containing capsules (spermatophores) usually occurs. Sexes in mollusks are different, meaning they are dioecious, except for hermaphrodite bivalves and some snails. The egg that develops into the larva after fertilization is all produced. Molluscs, thus, undergo sexual reproduction.

Thus, choice B is the correct answer.

Note: The species of the mollusk are present both in the deep and in the earthly seas. They range in size from microscopic organisms to 20-meter-long organisms. In the lives of humans, they play a very significant role. Within these mollusks, natural pearls are produced. Bivalve molluscs are used in marine and freshwater habitats as bioindicators. But a few of them are pests, such as snails and slugs.