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Molluscs

Although diverse, molluscs share several characteristics, including an unsegmented soft body, an internal or external shell in most cases, a mantle (fold in the body wall that lines the shell) and a muscular foot and/or tentacles.

Bivalves

Bivalves are molluscs, well-known to humans who have developed a taste for many of them. This group includes oysters, mussels, pipis, cockles, scallops and clams.

Chitons

Chitons are molluscs that tend to hide in crevices and underneath boulders, and are well camouflaged among the surrounding rocks. Their most distinctive feature is their eight overlapping plates, which protect them from predators and strong crashing waves.

Snails and slugs

Gastropods are the largest group of molluscs and contain about 70% of all mollusc species. They include turban snails, periwinkles, cowries, limpets, abalones, nerites and whelks, as well as freshwater snails, terrestrial snails and slugs (pulmonates) and sea slugs (opisthobranchs).

Octopus, squid and cuttlefish

Cephalopod literally means 'head foot' and members of this group, including octopuses, cuttlefishes, squids and nautiluses, have their foot or tentacles connected to their head, not their body.

Image gallery

Mollusc photos

Mollusc photos

Mollusc photos

Molluscs in the Australian Museum Collections

Malacology is the study of molluscs. The Malacology Collection holds a diverse array of mollusc specimens.

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Flower spider (Diaea sp)
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