Marvelous Mollusks

Now Open!

The newest special exhibit at the Museum of the Earth – “Marvelous Mollusks: the Secret World of Shells” – explores the amazing world of snails, clams, cephalopods, and their kin. Mollusks are the second-most diverse group of animals – only arthropods have more species. They live in the ocean, lakes and rivers, and on land, from forests to mountains to your back yard. They have a long and rich fossil record, including in the rocks of New York State. They include the largest invertebrate animals that have ever existed on Earth. Humans are tied to mollusks in a multitude of ways: we eat them, wear them, use them for medicine, and have been inspired by their beauty for thousands of years. Many mollusk species are highly endangered today due to human activity. The exhibit is based on the huge collections of the Paleontological Research Institution, which include more than 1 million modern and fossil mollusk specimens from around the world. The exhibit will also include live snails from central New York, which belong to one of the most endangered species in the world – the Chittenango Amber Snail.