Mollusk news, features and articles

An underwater photo of many mussels on a rock
(Image credit: Damocean via Getty Images)

Mollusks make up a massive group of invertebrates that includes snails, clams, octopuses and more, with researchers regularly adding new species — living and extinct. At Live Science, you can find awesome mollusk facts and findings with the latest news, features and articles from our expert writers and editors, including stories about a micro mollusk breaking the record for world's tiniest snail, why a "hat"-wearing ancient slug may explain the mollusk family tree and the discovery of a weird sea mollusk sporting hundreds of armored eyes.

Latest about Mollusks

Screengrab from a video of a bigfin squid at the bottom of the Tonga Trench. The squid's long arms are outstretched and its fins fanned out.

Watch extremely rare footage of a bigfin squid 'walking' on long, spindly arms deep in the South Pacific

By Sascha Pare published

While exploring the Tonga Trench in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean, researchers captured extremely rare footage of a Magnapinna squid with arms several times the length of its body.

Squids
A man's hand holding up a pacific geoduck against a blue sky

Pacific geoduck: The large, phallic clam that can live longer than 165 years

By Lydia Smith published

The Pacific geoduck is a clam that lives along the shore from Alaska to Mexico, can reach 9 pounds in weight and can outlive humans.

Mollusks
vampire squid V. pseudoinfernalis on a white background

Never-before-seen vampire squid species discovered in twilight zone of South China Sea

By Richard Pallardy published

Scientists discover what appears to be the second known living species of vampire squid swimming in deep water off Hainan island, China.

Mollusks
Deep-sea squid brooding its eggs

Rare video shows elusive deep-sea squid cradling her gigantic, translucent eggs

By Kristel Tjandra published

While navigating a remotely operated vehicle in the Gulf of California, scientists spotted a brooding squid cradling translucent eggs.

Squids
Two images; red squid with two bright green tips at the end of their arms (left), red squid wraps arms around underwater camera (right).

Elusive 'octopus squid' with world's largest biological lights attacks camera in striking new video

By Elise Poore published

Watch rare footage of deep sea "octopus squid" reveal its bioluminescent photophores as it attacks an underwater camera.

Squids
an octopus in shallow water being dragged along by a female during sex

Watch female octopus drag male around during sex in rare footage captured off Indonesian island

By Hannah Osborne published

Unusual octopus mating session captured in rare and comical footage filmed off the Indonesian island of Bunaken for new National Geographic show.

Octopuses
A blue dragon nudibranch floats near the surface of water with a blurred background of the rock covered floor beneath it.

Blue dragon: The deadly sea slug that steals venom from its prey

By Melissa Hobson published

The blue dragon may be too weak to resist the ocean's current, but it can take on a Portuguese man o'war and even steal its venom.

Mollusks
Octopus swimming underwater.

Oldest known sex chromosome emerged 248 million years ago in an octopus ancestor

By Stephanie Pappas published

The oldest-known sex chromosome emerged in octopus and squid between 455 million and 248 million years ago — 180 million years earlier than the previous record-holder, scientists have discovered.

Octopuses
A mother octopus broods her eggs near a small outcrop of rock unofficially called El Dorado Hill. When a female octopus broods (which can be a time span of multiple years), she does not eat and dies around the same time that her eggs hatch.

4 never-before-seen octopuses discovered in deep sea off Costa Rica

By Ashley Balzer Vigil published

Enigmatic octopuses that have been newly discovered in the waters off Costa Rica add to a growing registry of deep-sea dwellers.

Octopuses
A squid swims in black waters with thousands of eggs suspended from its arms.

Black-eyed squid dragging thousands of eggs like a cape captured in video off Costa Rica

By Sascha Pare published

Scientists have filmed one of the only squids known to brood their eggs — the black-eyed squid — swimming with thousands of unhatched offspring suspended from hooks on its arms.

Squids
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