Mollusks, Worms, Sponges, Starfish

Diploscapter pachys hasn't had sex for 18 million years, and is doing just fine

This Worm Hasn't Had Sex in 18 Million Years

By fusing its chromosomes, the creature could essentially clone itself while still maintaining genetic variation

A horsehair worm seen in its adult state, in which it lives only to breed

This Jumble of Writhing Sticks Is Actually a Bizarre Parasite

Observed flailing around in Taiwan, this so-called 'alien' turns out to be a horsehair worm

A gloomy octopus among piles of discarded shells at Octlantis

Octopus 'City' Found Off the Coast of Australia

Expected to live as loners, gloomy octopuses may actually live in groups bustling with activity

The slug-inspired glue is a tough adhesive that can be used for a range of applications, like closing wounds, or making adorable slug models.

Slugs Inspire Super-Strong Glue to Seal Wounds

One day this mollusc-inspired invention might just save your life

This flatworm fragment went to space and became a double-headed worm.

What Space-Faring Flatworms Can Teach Us About Human Health

Their experiment had some weird results—and could one day help humans thrive in microgravity and back here on Earth

Glue Made of Mussel Slime Could Prevent Scarring

The glue, infused with a version of the protein decorin, healed wounds in rats, giving them skin with hair follicles and oil glands instead of scar tissue

The ammonite that left the mark

Ancient Creature Left a 28-Foot Drag Mark After It Died

An ammonite found in a German quarry left its mark on its lagoon home

New York restaurants donated these oyster shells to the project. They'll be used to grow new oysters as part of an ambitious restoration program.

Why New York Schoolchildren Want to Grow a Billion Oysters

It's a grand attempt to restore a ravaged estuary

A piece of plastic after 10 worms nibbled it for 30 minutes

This Caterpillar Can Eat Plastic

The find could lead to new techniques for breaking down our ever-growing plastic waste

The giant shipworm, out of its tube

After Centuries of Searching, Scientists Finally Find the Mysterious Giant Shipworm Alive

The three-foot long creature has long eluded scientists, but they finally got a closer look

Are creatures like this at the bottom of animals' family tree?

Scientists Think Comb Jellies May Have Come Before All Other Animals

Sorry, sponges—there’s a new oldest ancestor in town

Still Life with Fruit, Oysters, and Wine by Everhart Kuhn, ca. 1865

Are Oysters an Aphrodisiac?

Sure, if you think so

Dave

R.I.P., Dave the U.K.'s Largest Earthworm

Measuring 16 inches long and weighing an ounce, the worm pulled from a Cheshire garden has become a prized specimen at the Natural History Museum

Not all clothes are created equal.

Doing Laundry Can Be Deadly for Clams, Mollusks and Other Marine Animals

Pick your wardrobe carefully—the lives of sea animals may depend on it

Silkworm cocoons

Feeding Silkworms Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Makes Super-Tough Silk

A diet rich in graphene or carbon nanotubes causes the creatures to produce a fiber twice as strong as normal silk

Hello, I am goat.

What Living Like Goats and Badgers Can Teach Us About Ourselves

Two Englishmen won the Ig Nobel Prize for eating grass, earthworms and worse in the name of science

The Billion Oyster Project is trying to help restore oysters to New York City's waterways.

Thousands of Toilets Submerged in NY Harbor Go From Bathroom Throne to Oyster Home

It’s much too soon to eat them, though

The 75-pound "Pearl of Puerto."

At 75 Pounds, This Could Be the World's Largest Pearl

The Filipino fisherman found the massive gem over a decade ago and kept it as a good luck charm

New research is causing the original keystone species, the ochre sea star Pisaster ochraceus, to lose some of its supposed ecosystem-controlling powers.

Tide Shifts Against the Concept of a Keystone Species

Starfish challenge a key ecological concept, ushering in a slightly-more democratic era for tide pools everywhere

Extremeophile Worms Discovered Living in Toxic Colorado Cave

Sulphur Cave in Steamboat Springs is home to a new species of blood-red worm capable of living in a cave full of hydrogen sulfide

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