The molluscs are one of the most diverse animal groups on our planet. To highlight this, the “International Mollusc of the Year” election takes place every year. This year there are five candidates to choose from – ranging from a blood-sucking vampire snail to the largest snail in the Atlantic to a stone-eating mussel. You can vote until the end of April.
Mollusks are one of the most successful groups of animals on earth. In the course of evolution, they have produced various variations of the basic mollusk body plan and have spread across the entire world – from the deep sea to the interior of the continents. “Mollusks populate almost every habitat on our planet – from tiny snails that are barely visible to the naked eye to giant squids that are among the largest invertebrates on Earth,” explains. Julia Sigwart from the Senckenberg Research Institute and Nature Museum Frankfurt.
This is how the election for mollusc of the year works
In order to make the diversity and ecological importance of molluscs better known, the Senckenberg Society for Natural Research, together with the international specialist society for mollusk research (Unitas Malacologica), is organizing a public online vote for the mollusc of the year for the sixth time this year. “By choosing ‘International Mollusk of the Year’, we would like to highlight the amazing diversity and uniqueness of this group of animals and at the same time draw attention to its importance and need for protection,” says Sigwart.
All mollusk fans can visit the website until April 26th https://sgn.one/moty2026 cast your vote for your personal favorite and find out more about the candidates. This year you can choose from three snails and two mussels. An international jury from the two organizations selected these candidates from numerous nominations from the global mollusk community. “We were once again impressed by the wide variety of submissions from all over the world – it was correspondingly challenging to select the five finalists,” says Carola Greve from the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt. “Each of the nominated species impresses with its own history and special, unique characteristics.”
These are the five candidates
The first candidate is the Horse snail Triplofusus giganteus. With a length of up to 60 centimeters, it is the largest sea snail in the Atlantic and one of the largest snails in the world. And it is a predator: The giant snail hunts in seagrass meadows of the tropical western Atlantic for smaller molluscs, which it grasps with its massive foot and then kills. Recent research shows that the horse snail lives for about 16 years and does not begin reproducing until it is six or seven years old.
The second nominee is also anything but harmless: The Vampire snail Cumia intertexta lives in the Mediterranean and sucks the blood of resting fish at night. To do this, she stalks and then pierces the fish’s skin with a sharp tooth at the tip of her trunk. Similar to mosquitoes or ticks on land, it injects a cocktail of anticoagulants and painkillers and then sucks the fish’s blood. After the blood meal, the fish remains somewhat weakened but otherwise intact.
The third candidate is one of the most unusual molluscs ever discovered: the one found in a river in the Philippines Shell Lithoredo abatanica. This relative of the wood-eating shipworm is the first known animal to eat rock. The mussel drills through limestone with its serrated shell and eats the rock dust. However, how it gets nutrients from it is still a mystery.
The fourth candidate is a mussel, which at first glance looks more like a snail. Because the one found in the sea off South Australia Moon mussel Ephippodonta lunata has converted their shells into permanently opened “wings” densely packed with sensory cells. This mussel moves across the seabed on its muscular foot, preferring to stay in the burrows of shrimp or even the interior of sponges.
The fifth nominated mollusk is so rare that it was even considered extinct a few years ago. Because the little one Land snail Filicaulis seychellensis only occurs on a single island in the Seychelles. There it inhabits the Seychelles palm, which is also unique in the world. This type of palm tree produces the largest seeds in the plant kingdom: the Coco de Mer, which weighs ten to 25 kilograms and is up to 50 centimeters tall.
The winner gets genome sequencing
The following applies to all five candidates: If they win, researchers will sequence their genome for the first time. “Mosluscs have an impressive genomic diversity, but so far comparatively few genomes have been completely decoded,” explains Greve. Such sequencing could reveal more about the unusual adaptations and lifestyles of the five nominees. “We are excited to see which species will win the title this year – and which previously hidden genomic secrets it will reveal!” says Greve. Which mollusc species will win the title of 2026 will be announced on April 30th.
Source: Senckenberg Society for Natural Research; Voting website