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Aplacophora is a class of small, deep-water, exclusively benthic, shell-less marine mollusks found in all oceans of the world. The class comprises 28 families and about 320 species. Aplacophorans are mostly very small (no longer than 5 cm), cylindrical and worm-like. Some species however can reach a length of 30 cm.
Aplacophorans mainly burrow into the substrate in water regions deeper than 20 m. These species may reach densities up to 4 or 5 specimens per m².
This class was once classified as sea cucumbers in the echinoderms. In 1987, they were officially recognized as mollusks and given their own class.
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