May 1 – Martin Z. Mollusk Day

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This is the real Martin Z. Mollusk.

nTodaynin Ocean City, New Jersey, people are gathering to see if a hermitncrab named Martin Z. Mollusk can see his shadow.

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This is some guy dressed up as Martin Z. Mollusk.

nThenna procession of pretend “celebrities” will parade into the areansurrounding the “Circle of Truth,” and there will be a song orntwo and a few pretty speeches.

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nNeithernmollusks nor crustaceans have an internal skeleton (bones).

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nBothnof them have external skeletons – called exoskeletons. (Well, MOSTnmollusks and all crustaceans have exoskeletons. An octopus and a slugnare examples of mollusks without skeletons of any sort.) We generallyncall these exoskeletons shells.

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nCrustaceansnare more closely related to insects and spiders than mollusks are.nLike insects and spiders, crustaceans have segmented bodies andnpaired, jointed legs. They also have two pairs of antennae.

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nMollusks,non the other hand, have soft, unsegmented bodies and no legs ornantennae. (Don’t confuse the two soft sensory tentacles on top of ansnail’s head with antennae—they’re very different.)

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Note the hermit crab’s soft, unprotected abdomen, which is curled up behind its head and legs.

nAnhermit crab lives in a hard shell and has hard, jointed legs andnantennae. Its soft abdomen is unprotected when it is not “wearing”nits shell.

In other words, as its name suggests, a hermit crab is a crustacean.

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Normally, you will see a hermit crab inside a mollusk’s abandoned shell.

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nInam wondering if every single person in Ocean City, New Jersey, thinksnthat hermit crabs are mollusks? Surely not. I think maybe Martinnstole the last name “Mollusk” when he stole the mollusk shell henlives in!

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 NationalnDay of Reason 

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