Origin and the Early Evolution of the Phylum Mollusca

The paper gives an overview of the modern hypotheses on the origin of the phylum Mollusca and the formation of its main classes. The Cambrian stage of molluscan evolution is characterized based on the paleontological material. The doubtfulness of assignment of the Precambrian (Vendian) soft-bodied fossil Kimberella to mollusks is argued. Judging from the interpretation of the morphologically diverse Cambrian fossils, it is suggested that the classes Polyplacophora, Monoplacophora, Gastropoda and Bivalvia formed already near the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary, i.e., from the beginning of the paleontologically documented evolutionary history of the phylum, whereas the assumption of the later origin of these taxa is unconvincing. The remaining classes of mollusks arose later, i.e., Cephalopoda, in the Late Cambrian; Scaphopoda, in the Ordovician; and Aplacophora, in the Silurian.