Snails have shells the moment they're born, but it's kind of hard to tell. In fact, it's hard to even see a baby snail. Some are nearly microscopic, such as Angustopila psammion, whose adult-sized ...

Mollusks, from land snails and slugs to oysters and mussels in the sea, have a few things in common. They have a head. They have a soft middle part that holds their organs. Then, some have a muscle ...

Stay on top of what’s happening in the Bay Area with essential Bay Area news stories, sent to your inbox every weekday. The Bay Bay Area-raised host Ericka Cruz Guevarra brings you context and ...

How do sea molluscs create the consistent patterns on their shells? How do they know when and how to change the pigment?

When I say I am a malacologist, I often am asked if that is a bad ecologist. No, I study the animal group Mollusca, which includes slugs, snails, sea slugs, clams, tusk shells, chitons (“coat of mail” ...

Beachcombers know that seashells appear in an endless array of colors and shapes, and researchers have just discovered that this variation extends to the molecular level. In fact, each shell is as ...

Scientists devised a mathematic model that helps explains how Nipponites, some of the wonkiest ammonites, built their shells. By Sabrina Imbler If you’ve seen one ammonite, you may think you’ve seen ...

Nic Rawlence receives funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund. Kerry Walton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would ...

The marketing pitch for Florida’s Sanibel and Captiva islands is “250 Kinds of Shells, 250 Miles of Bike Paths, 15 Miles of Beaches.” With shells getting the top billing over the islands’ many scenic ...