Of course I could be wrong---but, I believe the mollusk is the animal. The animal has a shell---like we got bones. His skeleton is an exoskeleton. So the shell is NOT the mollusk (or mollusc) .
       Art


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---- John Timmerman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I am designing and writing script for a shell exhibit to be mounted at Cape Fear Museum where I  work. We are looking at shell diversity off North Carolina, especially south of Cape Hatteras,  due to
> the presence of the Gulf Stream, in part.
>
> My question is this.
>
> "Mollusk" refers to the entire animal. It is to say the soft parts of the body
> and the shell.
> "Shell" refers to the calcium carbonate part of the mollusk.
> Are the two terms interchangeable?
> Are my definitions correct?
> In the context of the exhibit I am working on for the museum I referred to them
> as mollusks when talking about where they are living and shell when referring
> to what we are exhibiting and or what wash up empty on beaches.
>
> John Timmerman
> Wilmington North Carolina
>
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