Mollusca Meaning "Soft Bodied"
Cuttlefish
Mating pairs align their bodies head to head so the male can transfer a sealed package of sperm into a pouch beneath the female's mouth. The female then scurries off to a quiet place where she draws eggs from her cavity and passes them over the sperm, thereby fertilising them. The eggs are often then distributed in clutches coated with sepia to camouflage them with their surroundings. Cuttlefish can lay around 200 eggs in clutches often nearby those of other females. After between 2 and 4 months the young hatch as tiny versions of their parents.
Octopus
The male octopus has a modified arm called the hectocotylus, which is about a meter long and holds rows of sperm. Depending on the species, he will either approach a receptive female and insert the arm into her oviduct or take off the arm and give it to her to store in her mantle for later. In the latter scenario, the female keeps the arm until she lays her eggs, at which time she takes the arm out and spreads the sperm over her eggs to fertilize them.
Clams
Clams reproduce through a spawning process in which females release large numbers of eggs into the water, while males release sperm. Fertilization takes place in the open water. Females can release from 1 million to as many as 24 million eggs at one time, and spawning may continue for several months, depending on the water temperature and the availability of food. A single female may release up to 60 million eggs in a season, of which only a small number will become fertilized and grow to become adult clams. Once fertilization takes place, the young clam goes through a larval stage where it is carried by waves and currents. Eventually it develops a shell and sinks to the bottom.
Michael Rispoli
Michael Rispoli