Mollusks, from land snails and slugs to oysters and mussels in the sea, have a few things in common. They have a head. They have a soft middle part that holds their organs. Then, some have a muscle ...

Mollusks have produced many evolutionary innovations since they first appeared 540 million years ago, including spiral shells and a toothed tongue. A new study shows that about half of these ...

All mollusks build their own shells, whether they live in water or on land. Creatures like snails, clams, oysters and mussels use an organ called a mantle to secrete layers of calcium carbonate, which ...

Most people have collected shells at the beach. Some have even started a shell collection. But few people realise these shells are a unique genetic resource that scientists are only beginning to tap ...

At first sight, the moon clam may not look like a contender for stardom. Its size is humble, its color pale. Most shocking of all, for a clam, its shells can’t even close. But this oddball of the ...

A collection of fossil shells from marine snails and clams is challenging a theory that says the world's deadliest mass extinction was accompanied by severe ocean acidification. The study is the first ...