For two weeks and without knowing it, five molluscs have been crawling on an unusual podium: that of “Mollusc of the year”. The specialists carried out a first selection among the more than 85,000 species of molluscs known in the world (terrestrial and marine snails, slugs, oysters, etc.). Since March 1, fans can vote online to elect the most beautiful. Drum roll since the contest ends on Sunday, and there can only be one winner.
The vote has been organized for two years by a center for the study of genomic biodiversity (Loewe), based in Frankfurt, Germany and the winning mollusc will have its genome mapped, in order to better understand its evolution and its potential benefits for humanity. .
“Of all the invertebrates, molluscs are the most appreciated by man”
Last year the winner was a spectacular Cuban painted snail (polymita picta). This year’s finalists are: the Chilean abalone known as “loco” (concholepas concholepas), leopard slug (Limax maximus), a shellless sea snail known as the micromelo undatusa giant deep-sea oyster (Neopycnodont zibrowii) and a horned sea slug (Hermissenda crassicornis). All of them have a head, an intestine tube and a muscular “foot” to move around.
“Of all the invertebrates, molluscs are the most valued by humans, but this phylum is surprisingly neglected in genetic research,” Carola Greve, director of the Loewe laboratory, told AFP. Surprising yes, when molluscs have existed for more than 500 million years and represent, after insects, the most populated animal subdivision on the planet.