the.com/mollusk
a boneless invertebrate that quietly evolved eyes, jet engines, and venom to rival a snake's.
means A soft-bodied invertebrate—like a snail, clam, squid, or octopus—usually built around a muscular foot and often protected by a shell.
from From Latin 'molluscus,' meaning 'soft' or 'thin-shelled,' itself from 'mollis,' 'soft' (a cousin of words like 'mollify' and 'emollient'). Naturalists borrowed it to name these tender-bodied creatures, the squishiness being the whole point: a mollusk is, etymologically, just 'the soft one.'
- third place
- second-largest animal phylum after arthropods
- genius squid
- octopuses solve puzzles and open jars
- deadly cone
- cone snail venom can kill a human
- living rock
- giant clams grow over four feet long
- jet propulsion
- squid escape by firing water like rockets
giant squid — architeuthis dux, deep ocean species reaching 43+ feet long with eyes the size of dinner plates
giant clam — tridacna gigas, great barrier reef inhabitant weighing up to 200 pounds, largest bivalve on earth
mimic octopus — thaumoctopus mimicus, indonesian waters, can impersonate 15+ other species by changing shape and color
cone snail — conus geographus, tropical pacific, one drop of venom can kill 20 humans, hunts with harpoon tooth