Their time to slime: who will be 'Mollusc of the Year'?

In a public vote ending Sunday, five species of soft-bodied invertebrates are vying to follow in the illustrious trail of previous winners, dubbed the "world's most beautiful snail" and "weirdest octopus".

The grand prize? The triumphant species will have its genome decoded to better understand its evolution and potential benefits to humanity.

The International Mollusc of the Year competition, which kicked off this month, is run by the LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, based in Germany.

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 'Not the most attractive': Underdog snail wins Mollusc of the Year  

In the end it was neither beauty, nor gymnastic mating rituals that won the public over.

In voting the Chilean abalone to victory in the international "Mollusc of the Year" contest on Thursday, people seem to have voted with their stomachs.

The edible underdog—known commonly as the "loco"—pulled in 42 percent of the global votes, despite being up against some formidable opponents.

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A citizen science project documents unique sea slugs from Visakhapatnam coast

Marine biologists and citizen scientists document unique species of sea slugs in a project to record flora and fauna of lesser-studied ecosystems. 

All eyes are on the ground as they get down on their knees to scrutinise the rockpools. Every now and then, they pause, bring out their mobile phones to click a picture, and jot down notes. They are a part of a citizen science project called Intertidal Biodiversity of Andhra Pradesh initiated by the Visakhapatnam-based East Coast Conservation Team (ECCT) to record flora and fauna of lesser-studied marine ecosystems from the region. 

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