Tag: Marine invertebrates

Over 100,000 pounds of queen conch meat was imported into the US from Puerto Rico in 2019, highlighting its popularity as a seafood. This popular delicacy raises a common classification question: Is conch a shellfish? The simple answer is yes, but its true biological identity as a marine mollusk is more specific and fascinating.

Having existed for over 500 million years, jellyfish have proven incredibly resilient and play a surprisingly vital role in marine ecosystems, contributing many overlooked benefits to jellyfish and the ocean as a whole.

While many people associate shellfish danger with food poisoning, some species possess a much more direct and lethal threat. The most poisonous shellfish is not a creature you eat, but one that can sting you, with some cone snail species carrying venom potent enough to kill a human.