Which term includes creatures such as snails and slugs?

• A. Echinodermata
• B. Gastropoda
• C. Echolocation
• D. Fissipedia

Answer: (B)

Snails and slugs belong to the class Gastropoda, a group within the phylum Mollusca. This class is defined by a distinctive body plan: a broad, muscular foot used for crawling, a head with sensory tentacles, and usually a single shell (though many slugs have a reduced or absent shell). The name gastropod comes from Greek for stomach and foot, hinting at how their bodies are organized. Gastropods include a wide range of species, from sea snails to land slugs and freshwater varieties. They’re different from echinoderms like sea stars and sea urchins, which have a radically different body structure; echolocation is a sensory method used by some animals and is not a taxonomic group; and fissipedia is an old term related to a carnivore grouping, not molluscs.