mollusks library

Mollusks are members of the invertebrate phylum Mollusca and contain more than 100,000 species. Some mollusks have shells like clams and snails, while larger mollusks have no bones at all like the cuttlefish, squid and octopus.

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Geoduck

Geoduck, or Gweduc, a clam found on the Pacific Coast of North America from Puget Sound to southern California.

Limpet

Limpet, a water-dwelling snail. Most kinds live in the sea on the shoreline. The shell of the sea limpet is usually a flattened cone one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm) in length.

Mussel

Mussel, a bivalve mollusk. Mussels are found in oceans and in fresh water. Marine mussels are usually 3 to 10 inches (7.5 to 25 cm) long.

Nautilus

Nautilus, a marine mollusk with a coiled, many-chambered shell. It is also called the chambered, or pearly, nautilus to distinguish it from the argonaut, or paper nautilus, an unrelated mollusk of somewhat similar appearance.

Periwinkle

Periwinkle, a small sea animal with a thick spiral shell. There are about 80 species of periwinkles, widely distributed in cold and temperate climates.

Shipworm

Shipworm, or Teredo, name for a family of shelled marine animals. Although they resemble worms, shipworms are mollusks.

Slug

Slug, the common name of various mollusks that are related to snails, but lack a shell or have only a fragmentary shell embedded under the skin.

Snail

Snail, a mollusk that bears a univalve (one-piece) shell. A typical snail shell is cone-shaped and spirally coiled.

Whelk

Whelk, a marine (saltwater) snail. The common whelk, which grows up to about four inches (10 cm) in length, is found in the Atlantic on the coasts of Europe and North America.