This section showcases marine snails, slugs, shellfish, octopuses and more that together belong to a group called 'Mollusca' which means 'soft bodied'. This group is one of the largest groups of animals found in the oceans, with a few species also found in other habitats. Most of these soft bodied animals have a hard shell that protects their bodies. About 80% of molluscs are hard-shelled gastropods or marine snails. The remaining 20% that is made up of shell-less molluscs is incredibly diverse, and includes colourful nudibranchs (sea slugs), intelligent cephalopods (octopuses, squids), different bivalves (clams, oysters) and more. A common feature across most of these animals is the presence of a 'radula', which is a sharp tongue-like body part that is used to scrape food off hard surfaces and push it into their mouths.
