Cephalopods
This is a group of marine animals that includes octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes, nautiluses and an extinct group known as ammonites.
Gastropods
This group of animals includes slugs and snails. These animals can be found on living on land, and in marine and freshwater environments.
Discover more about molluscs
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What on Earth?
Argonauts: Are these the world’s weirdest octopuses?
Detachable, autonomous penis arms – need we say more?
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Science news
Ammonite extinction at the end of the dinosaur era was not inevitable
The iconic marine molluscs might be alive today had Earth not been struck by a meteorite.
27 June 2024 -
What on Earth?
Disco clam: A poster child for weird bivalves
As soon as you scratch the surface, the weirder and weirder bivalves get.
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British wildlife
For the love of snails and slugs
‘I love snails and slugs! I just think they’re fascinating,’ says Jon Ablett, our Curator of Molluscs.
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Science news
Our appetite for shellfish risks pushing mussels and scallops into extinction
Bivalves have been touted as a food of the future – but wild populations might not last that long.
15 August 2023 -
Science news
‘Dividing line’ for undersea wildlife discovered in the deep Pacific Ocean
The pattern of diversity in the deep sea is more complex than first thought.
24 July 2023 -
Science news
Bivalves were slow starters during the Cambrian explosion
The bivalves appear to have been left behind in history’s biggest ever burst of evolution.
31 May 2023 -
What on Earth?
The real cast of The Little Mermaid
Meet the creatures that really are part of your world.
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Oceans
Dumbo octopus: The murky world of the deepest octopus species
Named after its prominent ear-like fins, there's much more to this fascinating octopus than its adorable appearance.
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Collections
Hidden Treasures: Season two of our behind-the-scenes live streams
Explore our collections and discover some of the many specimens you won't see on a regular visit to the Museum.
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Science news
Boring bivalves are much more diverse than non-boring molluscs
A new study reveals that there are many ways these animals bore through solid rock, but a lack of habitat may lock them into an evolutionary dead end.
8 February 2023 -
Science news
Creatures from the deep: exploring the seas around remote South Atlantic islands
Museum scientists joined a six-week voyage to understand more about the fragile environments surrounding South Atlantic islands.
3 February 2023 -
News
Mussels in the Thames have declined by 95% since the 1960s
Native mussels in the River Thames are in decline, with some species having disappeared since a landmark study in 1964.
28 November 2022 -
News
Evidence of the world's oldest meal may have been discovered
Algae and bacteria were on the menu for the early animal Kimberella shortly before it was buried over 500 million years ago.
24 November 2022 -
Collections
Interesting shells: from bizarre biology to cunning counterfeits
Think you know shells? The ones you see at the beach are just the tip of the iceberg.
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News
Octopus ancestor with 10 arms named after President Joe Biden
The fossil uncovered in Montana suggests the ancestor of all squid and octopus had 10 arms, with some of these then lost by its descendants.
8 March 2022 -
What on Earth?
Giant and colossal squid: revealing the secrets of the largest invertebrates
Scientists have only just begun to reveal what the lives of giant and colossal squid are like in the past two decades.
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Science news
New soft tissue analyses show how ammonites lived in Jurassic oceans
New 3D scans of soft tissue show how ammonites functioned.
7 December 2021 -
What on Earth?
The blue-ringed octopus: small, vibrant and exceptionally deadly
Blue-ringed octopuses are stunning animals. But their flashy rings are not an idle threat.
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Oceans
What is an ammonite?
The often tightly wound shells of ammonites may be a familiar sight, but how much do you know about the animals that once lived inside?
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Science news
Getting a good look at deep-sea snails
These snails are losing their eyes. CT scanning is uncovering why.
18 December 2019 -
British wildlife
How to go rockpooling
Want to explore the life lurking in seashore rock pools? Find out what you need and what you might see.
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British wildlife
How to make a pitfall trap to catch insects and other minibeasts
Want to find out what small creatures are crawling around your garden? Follow our steps to set up a simple pitfall trap.
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Space
How does the Moon affect life on Earth?
Weeping trees, teeth stronger than Kevlar and one of Earth's most spectacular natural events are all shaped by the Moon.
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Oceans
What does it take to study the ocean?
Much of the ocean remains unexplored, but scientists at the Museum are helping unravel the mysteries of the world beneath the waves.
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Collections
Ida Slater: a geologist ahead of her time
Discover the important contributions made by one of London's first woman geologists.
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News
Death of George the tree snail marked the first extinction of 2019
George's death is a reminder that snail populations are crashing all over the world.
15 January 2019 -
Science news
Over 270 new species discovered in 2018
They include new dinosaurs, an ancient wombat and a giant shark.
27 December 2018 -
Oceans
Octopuses keep surprising us - here are eight examples how
They have blue blood, three hearts and a doughnut-shaped brain. But these aren't even the most unusual discoveries made about octopuses!
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What on Earth?
How slug slime could help heal a broken heart
Scientists have developed new adhesives inspired by some very sticky slugs.
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360° fossil-hunting adventure
Go on a virtual fossil hunt along Charmouth Beach.
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What on Earth?
The sting of love
Meet some of the animals whose search for a mate may actually be physically painful.
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What on Earth?
Nudibranchs: How sea slugs steal venom
Meet the brightly coloured sea slugs committing serial stinging-cell crimes.
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News
Rescuing a 199-million-year-old ammonite graveyard
Scientists saved scientifically important slabs from an ammonite fossil bed after they were damaged by storms.
3 November 2017 -
News
Seafloor expedition data will help assess future deep-sea mining
By improving our knowledge of what is living in the area, it will be easier to monitor the effects of future mining.
10 October 2017 -
Oceans
The fish that's also a pearl
Watch Andreia Salvador, Curator of Marine Mollusca, take a look at one of the Museum's most extraordinary and precious pearls.
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News
Deadly disease hotspots identified by four-year study
A study of aquatic snails that carry the parasitic disease schistosomiasis has identified infection hotspots around part of Africa's Lake Victoria that could be targeted to reduce infection.
18 July 2017 -
News
Snail genome provides clues to controlling devastating disease
Museum scientists have helped decode the genome for a snail that transmits the world's second-most deadly parasitic disease. The information could inspire new methods of disease control.
16 May 2017 -
News
Why sea snails are pretty in pink
Museum-led research uncovers the pigments that give the sea snails Clanculus pharaonius and C. margaritarius their striking pink and yellow-brown shells.
13 July 2016 -
Squid art in squid ink
The Museum's giant squid specimen so inspired one visiting artist that she felt compelled to draw it. Life size.
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Collections
Giant squid: from the deep sea to display
Curator Jon Ablett tells the tale of how an elusive monster from the deep came to be one of our popular attractions.
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News
Deep-sea shipworms revealed by micro-CT scans
Micro-CT scans of wood have revealed clues about the lives of a strange deep-sea wood-eating creature, nicknamed a shipworm.
15 April 2015