Lophotrochozoa

Off the rocky coast of southeastern Italy, two scuba divers from the financial crimes police bob in and out of the blue waters, under the curious gaze of vacationers.

They're seeking neither buried treasure nor smuggled contraband, but evidence of the hunt for date mussels, a forbidden mollusk turned status symbol whose poaching is indelibly destroying Italy's coastlines.

Every day, fishermen are going out fishing in the Bosphorus to hunt veined rapa whelks, large sea snails that have been touted widely as an antidote to cancer and are popular in Far Eastern countries.

Taner Yıldız, an academic from Istanbul University, told daily Hürriyet that the rapa whelks were significantly valuable, saying their export market value is around $20 million.

Turkey's Environment and Urbanization Ministry has presented a documentary that highlights how invasive species have entered and are endangering local species in the Black and Mediterranean Seas in an effort to raise awareness among the public.

The protected fan mussel species Pinna nobilis, a large species of Mediterranean clam, has been transported to another area due to the construction of the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

With rapid efficiency, a mysterious parasite is seeking out and killing a giant species of clam found only in the Mediterranean Sea. Unless scientists can find a way of stopping it soon, they say the mollusk could go extinct.

For thousands of years, the emblematic noble pen shell has been intrinsically connected to human civilization.

Diamonds and pearls that once belonged to French King Louis XVI's Queen Marie-Antoinette and have never been seen in public are to go on sale.

Zebra mussels, one of the most aggressive freshwater invaders, have been spreading uncontrollably in Turkey for the past 10 years, with experts now warning that the danger is threatening the safety of some cities' water supplies.

A new type of giant Pacific octopus was discovered by researchers at the University of Alaska, Earther said. It is believed to be the largest specimen of octopus. In 2012, scientists at the University of Alaska, and the US Geological Survey, discovered a bunch of Pacific Omonoia specimens in the Strait of Prince Wilhelm, genetically distinct from other Enteroctopus dofleini.

Enormous live mussels have appeared directly along the coastline of the Danube River in Russe. This provoked some of the people to use their free time not only for a walk but also for collecting the enormous specimens of the mussel kingdom.