watched carefully and removed from salt
water as soon as they shed their old shell,
since their new cuticle would otherwise
become leathery within hours and calcified
hard in two or three days.
Molluscs: Clams, Mussels,
Oysters, Scallops, Squid,
and Relatives
Molluscs are the strangest creatures we eat.
Take a close look sometime at an intact
abalone or oyster or squid! But strange or not,
molluscs are plentiful and delicious. Judging
by the massive prehistoric piles of oyster,
clam, and mussel shells that dot the planet’s
seacoasts, humans have feasted on these
conveniently sluggish creatures from the
earliest days. This highly successful and
diverse branch of the animal kingdom got its
start half a billion years ago and currently
includes 100,000 species, double the number