Vote now! Painted snail and shipworm vie for mollusc of the year title

Winner from shortlist of five will have its genome sequenced as scientists raise awareness of species' amazing roles in nature

From the sea butterfly to the naval shipworm to the barge-footer, a strange cast of characters is vying for the public's affection as part of a mollusc of the year competition.

Researchers in Germany are asking people around the world to vote for their favourite creature out of a list of five nominees. The winner will have its genome sequenced, with scientists extracting DNA to work out more about how it evolved. This is a significant prize for a group of animals that remains largely unexplored from the genetic point of view, with only a few dozen genomes fully sequenced.