Marine stars are facing unprecedented threats from warming seas and disease, but the IUCN Marine Star Specialist Group is turning critical data into official Red List assessments – check out their latest workshop below to see how! www.linkedin.com/pulse/out-sh...

Out of the Shadows: Assessing the Vulnerability & Resilience of Marine Stars

Without formal Red List assessments, rapid population declines across sea stars, brittle stars, feather stars and sea lilies remain invisible to the public and even resource managers. The IUCN SSC Mar...

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And the winner is… Your 2026 International Mollusc of the Year is 𝘾𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙖 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙖, the Vampire Snail! It will be the first blood-feeding mollusc to ever have its genome sequenced. Huge thanks to the nominators & @sgn.one for unlocking its DNA secrets! 🧬🩸 #IMOY26

#IMOY26: Meet the Vampire Snail! 🧛‍♂️ 🐌 𝘊𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘢 hunts resting fish at night, using a long proboscis to suck their blood. It even uses natural anesthetics to keep its "meal" calm. 🩸 Vote for this Mediterranean blood-sucker for Mollusc of the Year: sgn.one/moty2026 @sgn.one

🌼 Meet Filicaulis seychellensis, AKA the flower-power slug. This Seychelles slug lives high in coco de mer palms, feasting on elite pollen. After nearly going extinct, it’s back from the brink. Vote this conservation icon for International Mollusc of the Year: sgn.one/moty2026 🐌 @sgn.one

🌙 Mysterious Moon clam for #IMOY 𝙀𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖 𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙖 traded traditional shells for crescent-shaped "wings." It lives inside sponge galleries and shrimp burrows. Vote for the moon clam for International Mollusc of the Year: sgn.one/moty2026 @gotoryu.bsky.social @msshanhuang.bsky.social @sgn.one

🪨 A literal rockstar! The Philippines' Lithoredo abatanica is the first animal known to actually eat the rock it burrows through. How it digests stone is still a scientific mystery. 🇵🇭 Vote for this stone-eater for the 2026 International Mollusc of the Year: sgn.one/moty2026 ⛏️

#IMOY26: Meet 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝙜𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙪𝙨, the Apex Predator. 👹 The Florida Horse Conch is one of the world's largest carnivorous snails, reaching 60cm in length. It uses its massive foot to "smother" its prey. Vote for this giant for the International Mollusc of the Year: sgn.one/moty2026 🐚 @sgn.one

🐚 5 Species. 1 Title. 🧬 The search for the International Mollusc of the Year 2026 is on! Help us choose which incredible finalist will have its entire genome sequenced. Cast your vote here: sgn.one/moty2026 🗳️

Mollusc of the Year 2026

Klicken Sie hier, um die früheren Gewinner des ​„Weichtiers des Jahres“ zu sehen.

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻: Meet 𝘍𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘪, the deep-sea chiton officially named by the internet. Out of 8,000+ submissions, this "chiton of the people" proves that taxonomy is way more fun when everyone joins the party! @sgn.one @bdj.pensoft.net tinyurl.com/Ferreiraella

YOU NAMED A SPECIES!

Here is the paper: https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.14.e180491 Link to the contest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7HkBBJO7ZU Ocean Species Alliance newsletter (sign up): https://sosa.senckenberg.de/en/newsletter/

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Reminder! Get those names in! www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Hk...

True Facts: New Species Naming Competition

YouTube video by Ze Frank

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Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA)@oceanspecies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀! Check out Ze Frank’s newest True Facts video and drop your name suggestion for this new chiton in the comments: youtu.be/G7HkBBJO7ZU?... @sgn.one @bdj.pensoft.net

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀! Check out Ze Frank’s newest True Facts video and drop your name suggestion for this new chiton in the comments: youtu.be/G7HkBBJO7ZU?... @sgn.one @bdj.pensoft.net

True Facts: New Species Naming Competition

YouTube video by Ze Frank

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𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: From species discovery to deep-sea mysteries, @sgn.one researchers created connections and shared their exciting work at the 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, check out their contributions here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/deep-d...

Deep Dives into Crustacean Research: Senckenberg at The Crustacean Society Summer Meeting

From July 6–10, Senckenberg researchers joined crustacean experts from around the globe at one of the field’s most important gatherings: The Crustacean Society (TCS) Summer Meeting 2025, organized by ...

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What scientists thought was one deep-sea isopod species turned out to be six—five of them brand new to science! Explore this cryptic group's discovery story and meet the whole isopod crew in the article below: www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-c... @sgn.one

From Cryptic to God Complex: Discovery of 5 New Isopods!

Senckenberg Nature Research scientists explored one of the deepest and least-known parts of the ocean, the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and nearby regions in the Northwest Pacific. In doing so, they uncover...

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Paddles for legs?? Check out this newly described and super rare giant swimming isopod! Explore the story of how it was discovered on the @sgn.one Senckenberg 2022 AleutBio expedition: www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-sp...

New Species Alert: Bathyopsurus sonnei

Senckenberg Nature Research scientists discovered a brand-new species of a deep-sea swimming isopod in the Aleutian Trench, in the Pacific Ocean. This new species – at 65 millimeters long – is the lar...

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SOSA and @sgn.one were at the UN Ocean Conference 2025! Check out Dr. Alica Torkov's insights from the event and how they will shape our efforts to safeguard ocean biodiversity: www.linkedin.com/pulse/reflec...

Reflections from the 2025 UN Ocean Conference

Last week, Senckenberg Nature Research’s Prof. Dr.

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𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴! Are you passionate about science, marine biology, and safeguarding ocean biodiversity? We have 𝟯 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 open at @sgn.one! Check out the link below to see if one of these could be your next dream job! sosa.senckenberg.de/en/about/car...

🐌 Happy #SnailDay! Meet 𝘑𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘴 — a 1.5 mm snail found in the Mediterranean… but isn’t a native! This sneaky snail is likely an Indo-Pacific species that was only discovered in its new habitat! Learn more: tinyurl.com/problematicus bsky.app/profile/pgal...

🥁Drumroll, please! The 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 is… 𝘔𝘶𝘶𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴, the 𝗗𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘂𝘀! 🐙 Over 4,000 fans voted and though all the creature candidates were impressive, 𝘔𝘶𝘶𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴 stole the show and our hearts! The prize: complete genome sequencing. @sgn.one @sigwartae.bsky.social 🎥:@schmidtocean

Naming a species isn’t just a label—it’s a lifeline for conservation. But what happens when an animal loses its name? That’s the story of 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘢. Dive into how researchers at @noc.ac.uk got this purple long-tailed sea cucumber its name back: tinyurl.com/Pbuglossa

VOTE NOW! Mollusc of the Year 2025 Arctica islandica - world’s oldest mollusc Cellana exarata - Hawaiian limpet Glaucus atlanticus - blue dragon Muusoctopus sp. - Dorado Octopus Xenophora conchyliophora - shell / collector YOU decide - we do its genome moty.senckenberg.science @cgreve.bsky.social

𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲: A ground-breaking study in @science.org unravels the evolutionary history of molluscs: tinyurl.com/MolluscTree @sgn.one @sigwartae.bsky.social @kmkocot.bsky.social @squamiferum.bsky.social @vans-gonzalez.bsky.social @cgreve.bsky.social @mkyapchiongco.bsky.social

A genome-based phylogeny for Mollusca is concordant with fossils and morphology

Extreme morphological disparity within Mollusca has long confounded efforts to reconstruct a stable backbone phylogeny for the phylum. Familiar molluscan groups—gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopods—e...

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Here is the mollusc tree. (We fixed it, you're welcome.) 😇 @sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social @kmkocot.bsky.social @squamiferum.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Evolutionary history of molluscs was contentious for decades due to conflicting genetic data vs morphology and fossils. Our tree resolves previous controversies; also provide key insights on what the ancestral mollusc looked like! @oceanspecies.bsky.social @sgn.one @sigwartae.bsky.social

Earlier this week, a team from @trafficintl.bsky.social visited SOSA’s Red List team – discussing opportunities to collaborate on protecting marine species! @sgn.one

💙 Love is in the water! 💙 We’re sharing #OceanLove stories on our Instagram (@OceanSpecies) all month! Want your own set of exclusive, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀? Join the Alliance by signing up for our Newsletter by 𝗙𝗲𝗯 𝟭𝟭𝘁𝗵 👉 eepurl.com/ivU9RY

This snail’s shell is hiding secrets to its evolution! Explore what abalone shell shapes are revealing to @sgn.one Global fellow and Universiti Putra Malaysia PhD Student, Nur Syahirah Mamat: tinyurl.com/Abaloneshape

Abalone shells hold secrets to their evolution

Shells of abalone snails have long been admired for their beautiful iridescent mother-of-pearl lining. But researcher, Nur Syahirah Mamat, is fascinated by their shells for a completely different reas...

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1 DAY LEFT to nominate your favorite mollusc for the 2025 International Mollusc of the Year! Winner gets FREE genome sequencing! More info & Nominate here: tinyurl.com/2025MOTY @sgn.one @sigwartae.bsky.social

Nominate the International Mollusc of the Year! ~ 2025 ~

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Protecting deep-sea biodiversity takes global effort! At the #17DSBS Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, experts came together from around the world to discuss the future of our deep ocean: sosa.senckenberg.de/en/press/dee...

Recently unearthed fossils, Punk and Emo, are shaking up our understanding of ancient molluscs! Check out the article, co-authored by @sigwartae.bsky.social : www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New Silurian aculiferan fossils reveal complex early history of Mollusca - Nature

Fossils of two new worm-like aculiferan species add to the diversity of this group, showing that evolution in early aculiferans generated unusual forms comparable to other crown-group molluscs.

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@sgn.one PhD student, Kasia Vončina's research recently took her to Australia on the hunt for chitons to unlock molecular mysteries this unique marine mollusc holds! Learn more: sosa.senckenberg.de/en/press/chi...