Malacology is the study of mollusks. This includes animals like octopus, snails, slugs, and clams. It is the second largest phylum of animals, making them one of the most successful groups on the planet. There are over 80,000 described species of mollusks with many more left to be discovered. Mullusca is composed of 8 recognized classes including Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Polyplacophora, Scaphapoda, Monoplacophorans, the Aplacophorans, Caudofoveata and Solenogastres, and Bivalvia.
By: Chandler Olson
This week I photographed 5 species from the University of Alabama Natural History Museum Invertebrate Collection to add to the East Coast Shell Identification Guides.
These included:
With these additions the guide now contains 443 imaged species spanning 108 different families! I’m really happy with the scope that these guides have reached and I’m excited for the future!
