The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Philippines is a finalist for International Mollusc of the Year, and representing our country is one of the strangest and rarest species in the world.
The antingaw is the first known shipworm that lives within and eats through rock. Closely related to the tamilok and ugaong, it is unique in the shipworm family because it bores through limestone rather than wood.
Exclusively found in the Abatan River of Bohol, the antingaw proudly carries it origins in its scientific name: Lithoredo abatanica Shipway, Distel & Rosenberg, 2019.
All of the 2026 finalists are posted on the official website.
The UP Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) is continuing this research and is currently leading the campaign for the antingaw to be International Mollusc of the Year.
This is an annual competition hosted by the German research institute Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, its marine conservation arm Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance, and the international research society Unitas Malacologica. The antingaw is vying for the prize together with candidate mollusc species nominated by the researchers of Italy, Australia,Seychelles, and the United States for the final stage. The results will be decided by public vote.