Question

A new organism has been discovered. This organism has a bilaterally symmetric unsegmented body. It's capable of moving on its own with a muscular appendage and is encased in a large shell that seems to be attached to its body. Based on this evidence, which phylum would this new animal likely be classified into?

A. Mollusca
B. Echinodermata
C. Nematoda
D. Arthropoda

Answer 1

A. Mollusca

Step-by-step explanation:

Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals. The members are known as molluscs or mollusks. Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 additional species. The proportion of undescribed species is very high

Answer 2

The correct answer option is A. Mollusca.

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given that a new organism has been discovered which has a bilaterally symmetric unsegmented body and is capable of moving on its own with a muscular appendage and is encased in a large shell that seems to be attached to its body.

Given the above information, we are to determine which class this phylum can be classified into.

The most appropriate answer for this is Mollusca. Here, the description matches that of a snail.

Other classifications like arthropoda have segmented bodies while echinodermata are symmetrical.