Seashell

Thursday, 17 January 2013

Sanibel Island, Florida - The Sea Shell Capital!

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Akkulam
Akkulam is a neighborhood of Thiruvananthapuram city, the capital of Kerala state in India. It is about 10 km from Thiruvananthapuram city center. It is a well known for the picnic and backwater destination Akkulam Lake, an extension of Veli Lake, where it joins with the sea. The Southern Air Command of Indian Air force is located at Aakkulam.

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Aldeburgh
Coordinates: 52°09′N 1°36′E / 52.15°N 1.6°E / 52.15; 1.6
Aldeburgh ( /ˈɔːlbrə/) is a coastal town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. Located on the River Alde, the town is notable for its Blue Flag shingle beach and fisherman huts where freshly caught fish are sold daily, and the Aldeburgh Yacht Club. The internationally renowned Aldeburgh Festival of arts, which takes place at nearby Snape Maltings, was created in 1948 by the resident and acclaimed composer Benjamin Britten.
A popular weekend destination, particular attractions are the ancient Moot Hall (where the town council still meets), Napoleonic-era Martello tower to the south, sheltered yachting marina at Slaughden, and two family run shops serving fish and chips, one of which is often cited as among the best fish and chip shops in the UK.
Alde Burgh means "old fort" although this structure, along with much of the Tudor town, has now been lost to the sea. In the 16th century, Aldeburgh was a leading port, and had a flourishing ship-building industry. Sir Francis Drake's ships Greyhound and Pelican (later renamed Golden Hind) were both built in Aldeburgh. The flagship of the Virginia Company, the Sea Venture is believed to have been built there in 1608. When the River Alde silted up and was unable to accommodate larger ships, the area went into decline. Aldeburgh survived principally as a fishing village until the nineteenth century, when it became popular as a seaside resort. Much of its distinctive and whimsical architecture derives from this period. The river is now home to a yacht club and a sailing club.

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California
California (pronounced ⁱ/kælɨˈfɔrnjə/) is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third most extensive (after Alaska and Texas). It is home to the nation's second- and sixth-largest census statistical areas (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and San Francisco Bay Area), and eight of the nation's fifty most populated cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland). The capital city is Sacramento.
California's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west, to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east – from the Redwood–Douglas-fir forests of the northwest, to the Mojave Desert areas in the southeast. The center of the state is dominated by Central Valley, a major agricultural area. California contains both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney and Death Valley), and has the third-longest coastline of all states (after Alaska and Florida). Earthquakes are a common occurrence due to the state's location along the Pacific Ring of Fire: about 37,000 are recorded annually.

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Clacton on Sea
Coordinates: 51°47′30″N 1°08′45″E / 51.7918°N 1.1457°E / 51.7918; 1.1457
Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring peninsula, in Essex, England and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort that attracted many tourists in the summer months between the 1950s and 1970s, but which like many other British sea-side resorts went into decline as a holiday destination since holidays abroad became more affordable. These days it is more popular as a retirement location.
It is located between Jaywick and Holland-on-sea along the coastline and Great Clacton to the north. The relevant local authority is Tendring District Council.
It is situated at the eastern end of the A133, accessed via a largely improved road from the A120 junction at Hare Green, four miles east of Colchester. Nearby to the north-east is the neighbouring resort of Frinton-on-Sea.
Clacton has a pleasure pier, arcades, a golf course, caravan parks and an airfield. The town and its beaches are still popular with tourists in the summer, and there is an annual entertainment programme including the Clacton carnival held the second Saturday in August and lasting for a week. Clacton Airshow, an aerial display takes place on the Thursday and Friday before the August Bank Holiday involving historic and modern aircraft such as the Lancaster, Spitfire, Hurricane, helicopters, Harrier, Jaguar, Tornado, wing-walkers and the Red Arrows.

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Dordogne
Dordogne (French pronunciation: [dɔʁ.dɔɲ]; Occitan: Dordonha) is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great Dordogne River that runs through it. It roughly corresponds with the ancient county of Périgord.
The county of Périgord dates back to when the area was inhabited by the Gauls, it was home to four tribes, the name for "four tribes" in the Gaulish language was "Petrocore". The area eventually became known as the county of Le Périgord and its inhabitants became known as the Périgordins (or Périgourdins). There are four Périgords in the Dordogne: the "Périgord Vert" (Green Périgord) with its main town of Nontron, consists of verdant valleys in a region crossed by many rivers and streams; the "Périgord Blanc" (White Périgord) situated around the department's capital of Périgueux, is a region of limestone plateaux, wide valleys and meadows; the "Périgord Pourpre" (Purple Périgord) with its capital of Bergerac, is a wine region; and the "Périgord Noir" (Black Périgord) surrounding the administrative center of Sarlat, overlooks the valleys of the Vézère and the Dordogne, where the woods of oak and pine give it its name.

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Florida
Florida (ⁱ/ˈflɒrɪdə/) is a state in the southeastern United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 4th most populous, and the 8th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state capital is Tallahassee, its largest city is Jacksonville, and the South Florida metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern U.S.
Much of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Its geography is marked by a coastline, by the omnipresence of water and the threat of hurricanes. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state to border both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and its terrain is characterized by sedimentary soils. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. Its symbolic animals like the American alligator, Florida panther and the manatee, can be found in the Everglades, one of the most famous national parks in the world.

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Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle, located in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a concentric castle, constructed atop a cliff close to the Irish Sea. Architecturally, it is particularly notable for its massive gatehouse.
Built by King Edward I during his conquest of Wales, the castle was subject to several assaults and sieges during its period of active use as a fortification. The castle served as the de facto capital of an independent Wales between 1404 and 1409 when it was held by Owain Glyndŵr. The later seven-year siege of the castle, during the Wars of the Roses, has been memorialised in the famous song "Men of Harlech".
In Welsh mythology, Harlech is associated with Branwen, but despite this, the first record of a fortification at Harlech – historically or archaeologically – comes from 1283 when Edward began building a castle there as part of his conquest of Wales.
Wales and England had historically been enemies, and war broke out again between the two on 22 March 1282. The Welsh leader, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, died later that year on 11 December. His brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd continued to fight against the English.Dolwyddelan Castle was captured by the English in January 1283; control of Dolwyddelan opened up access to the Conwy valley. After Castell y Bere fell to English forces two months later, 560 soldiers marched to Harlech, led by Sir Otto de Grandison. Work began in earnest on building a castle at Harlech. The earliest references to the activity date from May. Harlech was one of 14 castles built by Edward I in the closing decades of the 13th century. Like many of the castles in the area, Harlech was designed by Master James of St. George. The castle was largely completed in seven years, and cost an estimated £8,190. Following its completion, James was appointed Constable of Harlech Castle, a high-status position he held for over three years.

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Hawaii
Coordinates: 21°18′41″N 157°47′47″W / 21.31139°N 157.79639°W / 21.31139; -157.79639
Hawaii (ⁱ/həˈwaɪ.iː/ or /həˈwaɪʔiː/; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi Hawaiian pronunciation: [hɐˈvɐiʔi]) is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.
Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with its own vibrant native culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the island of Hawaiʻi. The last is by far the largest and is often called "The Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.

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Kenya
Kenya ( /ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. With the Indian Ocean to its south-east, it is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya has a land area of 580,000 km² and a population of nearly 41 million, representing 42 different peoples and cultures. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa's highest mountain peaks. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The North Eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior in the US and Canada) and the world's largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park.

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Korea
Korea (/kəˈriːə/ kə-REE-ə; Korean: 한국 Hanguk [hanɡuːk] or 조선 Joseon [tɕosʌn] – (see etymology) is an East Asian region that is divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea), and separated from Taiwan to the south by the East China Sea.
Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest the origins of the Korean people might have been Altaic language-speaking people from south-central Siberia,^{[dubious – discuss]} who populated ancient Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("Hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BC, and Buddhism in the 4th century AD, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
The Three Kingdoms of Korea was first united during the Silla dynasty under the king Munmu of Silla. The united Silla dynasty fell to Goryeo Dynasty in 935 at the end of Later Three Kingdoms of Korea era. Goryeo was a highly cultural state and created the Jikji in the 14th century, using the world's first movable metal type printing press. The Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation which was forced to become a tributary state. After the Mongol Empire's collapse, severe political strife followed and Goryeo was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty in 1388.

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Larco Museum
The Larco Museum (Spanish: Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera) is a privately owned museum of pre-Columbian art, located in the Pueblo Libre District of Lima, Peru. The museum is housed in an 18th century vice-royal mansion built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 4,000 of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It boasts one of the world's largest collections of pre-Columbian art including Moche, Nazca, Chimú, and Inca pieces. Additionally, the Larco Museum is well known for its gallery of pre-Columbian erotic pottery.
It was one of the first museums in the world to make its entire 45,000 piece collection available in an online electronic catalog.
In 1925, Rafael Larco Herrera acquired a collection of vases and other archaeological pieces from Alfredo Hoyle, who was his brother-in-law. There were approximately 600 ceramic pieces in all. The arrival of these objects ignited a collector's enthusiasm in his son, Rafael Larco Hoyle. Soon after, Larco Herrera left his son in charge of the collection and those pieces completed the first collection of what would become the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum.

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Nevis
Nevis ( /ˈniːvɪs/) is an island in the Caribbean Sea. It is located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. The capital of Nevis is Charlestown.
Nevis and the island of Saint Kitts to the northwest form the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The two islands are separated by a shallow two-mile (3.22 km) channel known as "The Narrows". Nevis is conical in shape with a volcanic peak known as Nevis Peak at its center. The island is fringed on its western and northern coastlines by sandy beaches that are composed of a mixture of white coral sand with brown and black sand which was eroded and washed down from the volcanic rocks that make up the island. The gently-sloping coastal plain (0.6 miles/1 km wide) has natural freshwater springs as well as non-potable volcanic hot springs, especially along the western coast.

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North Wales
North Wales (Welsh: Gogledd Cymru) is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England. North Wales is divided in to three traditional regions, viz; Upper Gwynedd (or Gwynedd above the Conwy defined as the area north of the River Dyfi and west of the River Conwy); Lower Gwynedd (or Gwynedd below the Conwy also known as the Perfeddwlad and defined as the region east of the River Conwy and west of the River Dee) and Ynys Môn (or Anglesey), a large island off the north coast.^{[citation needed]}.
The southern boundary is arbitrary and its definition may depend on the use being made of the term. For example the boundary of North Wales Police differs from the boundary of the North Wales area of the Environment Agency Wales.
North Wales is steeped in history and was for almost a millennium known as the Kingdom of Gwynedd. The mountainous stronghold of Snowdonia formed the nucleus of that realm and would become the last redoubt of independent Wales — only overcome in 1283. To this day it remains a stronghold of the Welsh language and a centre for Welsh national and cultural identity.

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Peru
Peru ⁱ/pəˈruː/ (Spanish: Perú; Quechua: Perú;Aymara: Piruw), officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðel peˈɾu] ( listen)), is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Peruvian territory was home to ancient cultures, spanning from the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a Viceroyalty, which included most of its South American colonies. After achieving independence in 1821, Peru has undergone periods of political unrest and fiscal crisis as well as periods of stability and economic upswing.
Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions. Its geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes Mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country with a high Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 31%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, fishing, mining, and manufacturing of products such as textiles.

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Senegal
Senegal ⁱ/ˌsɛnɨˈɡɔːl/ (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 13 million. The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast. The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.

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Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, opening in 1973 after a long gestation that had begun with his competition-winning design in 1957.
Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour, in 2003. The Pritzker Prize citation stated:
The Sydney Opera House was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007. It is one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world.^{[citation needed]}
The Sydney Opera House is on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It sits at the northeastern tip of the Sydney central business district (the CBD), surrounded on three sides by the harbour (Sydney Cove and Farm Cove) and inland by the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Contrary to its name, the building houses multiple performance venues. The Sydney Opera House is among the busiest performing arts centres in the world, hosting over 1,500 performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people. It provides a venue for many performing-arts companies, including the four key resident companies Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and presents a wide range of productions on its own account. It is also one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, with more than seven million people visiting the site each year, 300,000 of whom take a guided tour.

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Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævəŋkɔər/; Malayalam: തിരുവിതാംകൂര്‍, tiruvitāṁkūr ^?[t̪iɾuʋit̪aːɱkuːr]) was a former Hindu feudal kingdom (till 1858) and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore at its zenith comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of Tamil Nadu. The state's flag was red with a silver, dextrally-coiled, sacred conch shell (Turbinella pyrum). Its ruler was accorded a 19-gun salute by the British Empire. Travancore, although a Princely State, was known for its relatively high literacy rate and its progressive government.

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Wales
Wales ⁱ/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.
During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.

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Albertus Seba
Albertus Seba (May 12, 1665, Etzel near Friedeburg - May 2, 1736, Amsterdam) was a Dutch pharmacist, zoologist and collector.
Born in East-Frisia, Seba moved to Amsterdam as an apprentice and opened around 1700 a pharmacy near the harbour. Seba asked sailors and ship surgeons to bring exotic plants and animal products he could use for preparing drugs. Seba also started to collect snakes, birds, insects, shells and lizards in his house. From 1711 he delivered drugs to the Russian court in Saint Petersburg and sometimes accepted fresh ginger as payment. Seba promoted his collection with the head-physician to Peter the Great, Robert Erskine (1674-1719), and in early 1716 Peter the Great bought the complete collection. However, in the following several years, Seba managed to develop another collection of natural specimens.
With Seba as an intermediate, Frederik Ruysch, a well-known Amsterdam physician and anatomist,also sold his collection to the tsar. Both collections formed the core of the Kunstkammer, the first Russian public museum founded by Peter the Great in 1712. When a special museum building was designed and built (1728), both collections, along with many other exhibits, were displayed there.

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Kikuyu people
The Kikuyu are a Bantu people inhabiting East Africa. They are the largest ethnic group in Kenya, and speak the Bantu Kikuyu language as a mother tongue. The term Kikuyu is the Swahili form of the proper name and pronunciation of Kikuyu, although group members refer to themselves as the Agĩkũyũ.
There are about 5,300,000 Gĩkũyũ people in Kenya (1994 I. Larsen BTL), equal to about 23% of the country's total population.
The Kikuyu are of Bantu origin. They constitute the single largest ethnic group in Kenya, and are concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Kenya. The exact place that the Kikuyu's ancestors migrated from after the initial Bantu expansion from West Africa is uncertain. Some authorities suggest that they arrived in their present Mount Kenya area of inhabitation from earlier settlements further to the north and east, while others argue that the Kikuyu, along with related Eastern Bantu people such as the Embu, Mbeere and Meru, moved into Kenya from points further south.

wn.com/Kikuyu_people
Maggi Hambling
Maggi Hambling CBE (born 23 October 1945 in Sudbury, Suffolk) is an English painter and sculptor. Perhaps her best known public works are a memorial to Oscar Wilde in central London and Scallop, a 4 metre high steel sculpture of two interlocking scallop shells on Aldeburgh beach dedicated to Benjamin Britten. Both works have attracted a degree of controversy.
Hambling studied at the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing from 1960 under Cedric Morris, then at Ipswich School of Art (1962–4), Camberwell (1964-7), and finally the Slade School of Art graduating in 1969. In 1980, Hambling became the first Artist in Residence at the National Gallery, London, during which she produced a series of portraits of the comedian Max Wall. Wall responded to Hambling's request to paint him with a note saying: "Re: painting little me, I am flattered indeed - what colour?" Yvonne Drewey, her art teacher at Amberfield School, described her as being her "pride and joy".
Hambling is known as a portraitist with several works in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Her style tends towards the expressionistic, with some portraits completed during live sittings and others painted later, partly from memory. In the 1980s, she turned more to painting landscapes, most especially of the area around Suffolk where she lives. More recently her canvases have been more abstract, often including highlights of vivid colour, in particular her dramatic Seascapes of the North Sea.

wn.com/Maggi_Hambling

Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Seashell

From the album Scala & Kolacny Brothers...

published: 15 Mar 2011

author: officialscala

Seashells

A display of seashells from around the world....

published: 01 Mar 2009

author: NaplesSeaShellCo

seabear - seashell

www.youtube.com moderndorkology.tumblr.com...

published: 05 Oct 2008

author: moderndorkology

Cone Sea Shell - Geographis Cone

Australias very beautiful but deadly cone shell...

published: 18 Apr 2009

author: slk320k

Classic Sesame Street - Sea Shells

Thanks to NantoVision for finding this film, from 1985, a stop-motion film animation of al...

published: 25 Dec 2007

author: tpirman1982

Sanibel Island, Florida - The Sea Shell Capital!

VACATION RENTAL: www.Shorewood2C.com - Welcome to Sanibel Island, Florida! As you leave Fo...

published: 31 Jan 2009

author: NashuaVideoTours

U-MV130 - Skylab - Seashell

NOTE TO COPYRIGHT HOLDERS: Please contact us directly with any desire to have your materia...

published: 17 Nov 2007

author: mypartofthething

Three Seashells

...

published: 19 Dec 2008

author: Obscurepop

2010 Millions of SeaShells appearing on Pakistani Beaches-1.avi

:::No Scientific Explanation::: Millions of Seashells apearing every day on Clifton beach,...

published: 16 Jul 2010

author: watup2154

3 seashells scene Demolitian Man

sly stallone...

published: 05 Aug 2008

author: magzzz104

Seashell by Seabear

Video constructed around the Excellent 'Seashell' by Seabear (from Iceland)....

published: 14 Dec 2007

author: Neil Coombs

How To | French Fishtail Seashell Braid

OPEN ME FOR MORE INFO! --------------------------------------------------- I found this on...

published: 04 Jun 2012

author: Niamh816

Braided Seashell Side Bun

Twitter: twitter.com Instagram: www.followgram.me Vlog Channel: www.youtube.com Fashion Ch...

published: 13 Apr 2012

author: cerinebabyyish

DIY Seashell, seaglass and sand Candles

for more info visit debisdesigndiary.blogspot.com or http themermaidsmercantile.blogspot.c...

published: 08 Jan 2012

author: Debi Beard

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photo: Creative Commons / INABA Tomoaki

Emergency landing grounds Boeing 787 jets in Japan

The Guardian

16 Jan 2013

YURI KAGEYAMA. AP Business Writers= TOKYO (AP) — Boeing Co.'s 787 planes were grounded for safety checks Wednesday by two major Japanese airlines after one was forced to make an emergency landing in the latest blow for the new jet ... The 787, known as the Dreamliner, is Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced jet, and the company is counting heavily on its success ... The grounding was done voluntarily by the airlines ... The U.S ... U.S....(size: 11.1Kb)

photo: White House / Pete Souza

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden talk with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel prior to his departure from the White House, July 6, 2010.

Obama, Netanyahu seem headed for US-Israel clash

The Guardian

17 Jan 2013

AMY TEIBEL. Associated Press= JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's premier on Wednesday dismissed President Barack Obama's reported displeasure with his hard-line policies toward the Palestinians, a sisgn that the two could be headed for a showdown. Polls suggest Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to win Israel's elections next week and continue in office ... could suffer in unprecedented ways if the Israeli government doesn't change its policies....(size: 10.2Kb)

photo: AP / BP

In this undated image released Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013, by BP petroleum company, showing the Amenas natural gas field in the eastern central region of Algeria, where Islamist militants raided and took hostages Wednesday Jan. 16, 2013.

Hostages taken at BP plant in Algeria

The Australian

16 Jan 2013

IN what could be the first spillover from France's intervention in Mali, Islamist militants attacked and occupied a natural gas complex partly operated by energy company BP in southern Algeria. Two foreigners were killed and dozens of others, including Americans, were taken hostage ... It said it was holding 41 foreigners, including seven Americans ... Recommended Coverage. Al-Qaeda seize hostages in Algeria. End of sidebar ...  . ....(size: 7.4Kb)

photo: French MoD photo

File photo of French troops at Abidjan Airport, Ivory Coast.

France set to triple size of force inside Mali

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

16 Jan 2013

BAMAKO, Mali -- After a punishing bombing campaign failed to halt the advance of al-Qaida-linked fighters, France pledged Tuesday to triple the size of its force in Mali, sending in hundreds more troops as it prepared for a land assault to dislodge the militants occupying the country's northern half ... On Tuesday, France announced that it was increasing the number of troops from 800 to 2,500 ... "We have one objective ... On Tuesday, U.S ... ....(size: 3.6Kb)

photo: GFDL

Boeing 787 - Dreamliner at roll-out ceremony /aaeh

Boeing crisis deepens as Dreamliners grounded worldwide

The Star

17 Jan 2013

TOKYO. Aviation regulators on Thursday grounded most of the world's 787 Dreamliner fleet until a fire risk linked to the plane's batteries can been fixed, deepening a crisis for its US manufacturer Boeing. Regulators in Japan, India and Chile followed the lead of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in ordering an indefinite halt to all operations, after a Japanese Dreamliner on Wednesday was forced into an emergency landing ... ....(size: 4.5Kb)

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>WholesaleSarong.com Adds New Gemstone Jewelry to its Wholesale Jewelry Line

Seattle Post

17 Jan 2013

Wholesalesarong.com adds new gemstone rings, earrings and pendants into its massive wholesale jewelry product line. Blaine, WA (PRWEB) January 16, 2013 ... Other than the genuine and semi-precious stones, this catalog also features seashell necklace chokers, seashell jewelry bracelets rings and dyed seashell selection fashion sterling silver pendants, just to add more fun into your accessories ... Company Info .....(size: 4.2Kb)

Style Q&A; with sister design duo of Tuleste (Photos)

The Examiner

17 Jan 2013

Since launching their collection Tuleste in 2008, jewelry design sister duo, Satu and Celeste Greenberg have been creating some buzz with their eye-catching collection of statement necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings ... Style Q&A with Sister Design Duo of Tuleste ... For spring, we’re introducing new, more whimsical designs like our ladder, bow, and seashell pieces as well as beautiful hand enamel detail in playful spring colors ... ....(size: 4.2Kb)

Growing heritage garden flowers

The Examiner

17 Jan 2013

While many of us are familiar with the movement to grow more heritage food plants to preserve genetic diversity and discover better taste, fewer people seem to be interested in preserving heritage flowers. Many heritage flowering plants are annuals and our gardening tastes have shifted to perennial plants ... The old varieties Bright Lights, Seashell and Sensation make colorful tall bedding plants and are good for cutting ... ....(size: 6.6Kb)

Annual Broward Shell Show features 'Killer Clam'

Sun Sentinel

16 Jan 2013

South Florida beaches are home to thousands of unique seashells, and residents will be able to find them all in one place later this weekend during the 48th annual Broward Shell Show in Pompano Beach. The show will feature a variety of seashells from around South Florida and the world, too – both on display and for sale ... Items for sale will include handcrafted shells, educational shell books and seashell jewelry....(size: 3.9Kb)

WholesaleSarong.com Adds New Gemstone Jewelry to its Wholesale Jewelry Line

Yahoo Daily News

16 Jan 2013

Wholesalesarong.com adds new gemstone rings, earrings and pendants into its massive wholesale jewelry product line ... All deliveries will be made on standard UPS ground to addresses in US and Canada ... Other than the genuine and semi-precious stones, this catalog also features seashell necklace chokers, seashell jewelry bracelets rings and dyed seashell selection fashion sterling silver pendants, just to add more fun into your accessories....(size: 4.2Kb)

Artistic beauty to link the decor in the abode's bathrooms (Photos)

The Examiner

16 Jan 2013

Dream bathrooms can be the size of a normal size bedroom ... A special touch to the bathroom adds beauty to the decor. View slideshow ... Add a surprise to the decor. Photo credit.  ... "Linkasink's shell drains are crafted from real seashells and bring a subtle touch of the ocean to your bath or powder room sink ... Linkasink delivers glamour and style with drain covers embellished with Swarovski crystals, vintage jewelry, seashells and pearls ... ....(size: 3.7Kb)

2013 Indialantic Art Festival

The Examiner

16 Jan 2013

January in Florida signals the beginning of what Space Coast residents refer to as 'festival season'. It is that time of year when snowbirds are here, but rain is not; temperatures are low, but humidity is not. It is the perfect time of year to be outdoors and the heavy schedule of outdoor events reflects that. Fine Art and Craft ... Meet the artists ... What to expect ... Suggested by the author. ... January2013 Space Coast Seashell Festival . ....(size: 2.5Kb)

John Cage concert deeply challenging

Philadelphia Daily News

15 Jan 2013

Four noted composers perform with quietude, punctuated by silences. Gallery. John Cage concert deeply challenging. David Patrick Stearns, Inquirer Classical Music Critic. Posted. Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 3.01 AM ... Pauline Oliveros blew into a seashell. Keith Rowe and Michael Pisaro had electric guitars; one of them played with a soft xylophone mallet. Still, this much-anticipated concert, coming near the end of the three-month Cage ... ... ....(size: 21.3Kb)

PEACE ON FLORIDA’S SANIBEL ISLAND

U~T San Diego

13 Jan 2013

SANIBEL, Fla. — Visit the beaches on this Gulf Coast barrier island and you’re likely to see people doing the Sanibel Stoop. That’s the term for the bent-at-the-waist posture used to collect seashells on Sanibel Island, which bills itself as one of the best shelling locations in the world. The island also offers 15 miles of beach, 22 miles of bike paths and the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the country ... But here’s a tip....(size: 2.8Kb)

Overlooked sex symbols: The top ten

The Examiner

12 Jan 2013

Tweet. 0 Email. Report. Photo 1 of 10. A murderer? Endearing? Yesif its Michael C. Halls delightfully deviant Dexter ... Guys with glasses? Sexy. Guys with TV shows on Comedy Central? Irresistible.Remember watching The Little Mermaid when you were a kid and suddenly feeling a little tingly down there when Ariel wiggled around in her tiny seashell bra? Watch Enchanted and youll have the same reaction to Amy Adams ... 6 Photos ... 8 Photos ... ....(size: 8.4Kb)

A story of LOVE in photographs ... It's BEACH time!

The Examiner

11 Jan 2013

Summer was upon us and it was now eight months since this beautiful little girl blessed our lives ... What a wonderful experience it was! We didn't know how she would react to the ocean and the sand and the seashells, but what we saw melted our hearts ... ....(size: 1.4Kb)

Two notable Aussie TV series now available online in the U.S.

Kansas City Star

11 Jan 2013

TV viewers are used to crime with an American accent, whether it's the twang of the Kentucky hill country in "Justified," the Baltimore street-corner hustle of "The Wire" or the New Jersey bada-bing-bada-boom of "The Sopranos ." ... Australia ... It's these shows' combustible culture clash - the Mediterranean/ immigrant European/ Aussie working-class hoods vs ... the tropical sun-kissed city of Cairns, a seashell toss from the Great Barrier Reef ... ....(size: 5.7Kb)

Two notable Aussie TV series now available online in the U.S. - Wire Lifestyle - ...

Sacramento Bee

11 Jan 2013

timeline:
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For the coaster ship of this name, see MV Seashell. For the color, see Seashell (color).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

Seashells
Part of a series on

Mollusk shells
Clam shells Chiton shells Snail shells Tusk shells
About mollusk shells
Conchology Nacre Valve
Other seashells
Brachiopod shells Crustacean shells Horseshoe crabs Sea urchin tests
v t e

Seashells washed up on the beach in Valencia, Spain; nearly all are single valves of bivalve mollusks, mostly of Mactra corallina

Hand-picked molluscan seashells (bivalves and gastropods) from the beach at Clacton on Sea in England

A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer created by an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers. The shells are empty because the animal has died and the soft parts have been eaten by another animal or have rotted out.

The term seashell usually refers to the exoskeleton of an invertebrate (an animal without a backbone). Most shells that are found on beaches are the shells of marine mollusks, partly because many of these shells endure better than other seashells.

Apart from mollusk shells, other shells that can be found on beaches are those of barnacles, horseshoe crabs and brachiopods. Marine annelid worms in the family Serpulidae create shells made of calcareous tubes cemented onto other surfaces. The shells of sea urchins are called tests, and the moulted shells of crabs and lobsters are called exuviae. While most seashells are external, some cephalopods have internal shells.

Seashells have been admired, studied and used by humans for many different purposes throughout history and pre-history. But seashells are not the only kind of shells. In a variety of habitats it is possible to find shells from freshwater animals such as freshwater mussels and freshwater snails, and it is also possible to find shells from land snails.

Terminology [link]

When the word "seashells" is used to refer only to the shells of marine mollusks then studying seashells is part of conchology. Conchologists or serious collectors who have a scientific bias are in general careful not to disturb living populations and habitats: even though they may collect a few live animals, most responsible collectors do not often over-collect or otherwise disturb ecosystems.

When studying the whole molluscan animal is included as well as studying the shell, then the study is known as malacology; a person who studies mollusks is known as a malacologist.

Occurrence [link]

Seashells are commonly found in beach drift, which is natural detritus deposited along strandlines on beaches by the waves and the tides. Shells are very often washed up onto a beach empty and clean, the animal having already died, and the soft parts having rotted away or having been eaten by either predators or scavengers.

Empty seashells are often picked up by beachcombers. However, the majority of seashells which are offered for sale commercially have been collected alive (often in bulk) and then killed and cleaned, specifically for the commercial trade. This type of large-scale exploitation can sometimes have a strong negative impact on local ecosystems, and sometimes can significantly reduce the distribution of rare species.

Molluscan seashells [link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)

Seashells hand picked from beach drift in North Wales at Shell Island near Harlech Castle, Wales, bivalves and gastropods, March/April 1985

Main article: Mollusc shell

The word seashell is often used to mean only the shell of a marine mollusk. Marine mollusk shells that are familiar to beachcombers and thus most likely to be called "seashells" are the shells of marine species of bivalves (or clams), gastropods (or snails), scaphopods (or tusk shells), polyplacophorans (or chitons), and cephalopods (such as nautilus and spirula). These shells are very often the most commonly encountered, both in the wild, and for sale as decorative objects.

Marine species of gastropods and bivalves are more numerous than land and freshwater species, and the shells are often larger and more robust. The shells of marine species also often have more sculpture and more color, although this is by no means always the case.

In the tropical and sub-tropical areas of the planet, there are far more species of colorful, large, shallow water shelled marine mollusks than there are in the temperate zones and the regions closer to the poles.

Although there are a number of species of shelled mollusks that are quite large, there are vast numbers of extremely small species too, see micromollusks.

Not all mollusks are marine however, there are numerous land and freshwater mollusks, see for example snail and freshwater bivalves. And not all mollusks have an external shell: some mollusks such as some cephalopods (squid and octopuses) have an internal shell, and many mollusks have no shell, see for example slug and nudibranch.

Bivalves [link]

Single valves of the bivalve Senilia senilis, plus two gastropods, washed up on the beach at Fadiouth, Senegal

Bivalves are often the most common seashells that wash up on large sandy beaches or in sheltered lagoons. They can sometimes be extremely numerous. Very often the two valves become separated.

Shell Beach, Western Australia is a beach which is entirely made up of the shells of the cockle Fragum erugatum as shown here.

Gastropods [link]

Numerous Turritella gastropod shells washed up on a beach at Playa Grande, Costa Rica

Certain species of gastropod seashells (the shells of sea snails) can sometimes be common, washed up on sandy beaches, and also on beaches that are surrounded by rocky marine habitat.

Polyplacophorans [link]

Loose valves or plates from Chiton tuberculatus from the beachdrift on the southeast coast of Nevis, West Indies

Chiton plates or valves often wash up on beaches in rocky areas where chitons are common. Chiton shells, which are composed of eight separate plates and a girdle, usually come apart not long after death, so they are almost always found as disarticulated plates. Plates from larger species of chitons are sometimes known as "butterfly shells" because of their shape.

Cephalopods [link]

Cuttlebone from a Sepia sp.

Shells of 3 species of Nautilus

Only a few species of cephalopods have shells (either internal or external) that are sometimes found washed up on beaches.

Some cephalopods such as Sepia, the cuttlefish, have a large internal shell, the cuttlefish bone, and this often washes up on beaches in parts of the world where cuttlefish are common.

Spirula spirula is a deep water squid-like cephalopod. It has an internal shell which is small (about 1 in or 24 mm) but very light and buoyant. This chambered shell floats very well and therefore washes up easily and is familiar to beachcombers in the tropics.

Nautilus is the only genus of cephalopod that has a well-developed external shell. Females of the cephalopod genus Argonauta create a papery egg case which sometimes washes up on tropical beaches and is referred to as a "paper nautilus".

The largest group of shelled cephalopods, the ammonites, are extinct, but their shells are very common in certain areas as fossils.

Molluscan seashells used by other animals [link]

Empty molluscan seashells are a sturdy, and usually readily available, "free" resource which is often easily found on beaches, in the intertidal zone, and in the shallow subtidal zone. As such they are sometimes used second-hand by animals other than humans for various purposes, including for protection (as in hermit crabs) and for construction.

Mollusks [link]

Carrier shells in the family Xenophoridae are marine shelled gastropods, fairly large sea snails. Most species of xenophorids cement a series of objects to the rim of their shells as they grow. These objects are sometimes small pebbles or other hard detritus. Very often shells of bivalves or smaller gastropods are used, depending on what is available on the particular substrate where the snail itself lives. It is not clear whether these shell attachments serve as camouflage, or whether they are intended to help prevent the shell sinking into a soft substrate.

An ocellated (spotted) octopus using a clamshell as a shelter

Small octopuses sometimes use an empty shell as a sort of cave to hide in, or hold seashells around themselves as a form of protection like a temporary fortress.

Invertebrates [link]

Marine hermit crab Diogenes pugilator, using a shell of the dog whelk Nassarius reticulatus

Almost all genera of hermit crabs use or "wear" empty marine gastropod shells throughout their lifespan, in order to protect their soft abdomens, and in order to have a strong shell to withdraw into if attacked by a predator. Each individual hermit crab is forced to find another gastropod shell on a regular basis, whenever it grows too large for the one it is currently using.

Some hermit crab species live on land and may be found quite some distance from the sea, including those in the tropical genus Coenobita.

Conchology [link]

Main article: Conchology

There are numerous popular books and field guides on the subject of shell-collecting. Although there are a number of books about land and freshwater mollusks, the majority of popular books emphasize, or focus exclusively on, the shells of marine mollusks. Both the science of studying mollusk shells and the hobby of collecting and classifying them are known as conchology. The line between professionals and amateur enthusiasts is often not well defined in this subject, because many amateurs have contributed to, and continue to contribute to, conchology and the larger science of malacology. Many shell collectors belong to "shell clubs" where they can meet others who share their interests. A large number of amateurs collect the shells of marine mollusks, and this is partly because many shells wash up empty on beaches, or live in the intertidal or sub-tidal zones, and are therefore easily found and preserved without much in the way of specialized equipment or expensive supplies. Some shell collectors find their own material and keep careful records, or buy only "specimen shells", which means shells which have full collecting data: information including how, when, where, in what habitat, and by whom, the shells were collected. On the other hand, some collectors buy the more widely available commercially-imported exotic shells, the majority of which have very little data, or none at all. To museum scientists, having full collecting data (when, where, and by whom it was collected) with a specimen is far more important than having the shell correctly identified. Some owners of shell collections hope to be able to donate their collection to a major natural history or zoology museum at some point, however, shells with little or no collecting data are usually of no value to science, and are likely not to be accepted by a major museum. Apart from any damage to the shell that may have happened before it was collected, shells can also suffer damage when they are stored or displayed. For an example of one rather serious kind of damage see Byne's disease.

Shell clubs [link]

There are a number of clubs or societies which consist of people who are united by a shared interest in shells. In the USA these clubs are more common in southerly coastal areas, such as Florida and California, where the marine fauna is rich in species.

Identification [link]

Seashells are usually identified by consulting general or regional shell-collecting field guides, and specific scientific books on different taxa of shell-bearing mollusks (monographs) or "iconographies" (limited text - mainly photographs or other illustrations). (For a few titles on this subject in the USA, see the list of books at the foot of this article.) Identifications to the species level are generally achieved by examining illustrations and written descriptions, rather than by the use of Identification keys, as is often the case in identifying plants and other phyla of invertebrates. The construction of functional keys for the identification of the shells of marine mollusks to the species level can be very difficult, because of the great variability within many species and families. The identification of certain individual species is often very difficult, even for a specialist in that particular family. Some species cannot be differentiated on the basis of shell character alone.

Numerous smaller and more obscure mollusk species (see micromollusk) are yet to be discovered and named. In other words, they have not yet been differentiated from similar species and assigned scientific (binomial) names in articles in journals recognized by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). Large numbers of new species are published in the scientific literature each year. There are currently an estimated 100,000 species of mollusks worldwide.

Non-marine "seashells"[link]

A group of purchased (mostly marine) shells includes the shell of a large tropical land snail (upper right), and a shiny freshwater apple snail shell (center)

The term seashell is also applied loosely to mollusk shells that are not of marine origin, for example by people walking the shores of lakes and rivers using the term for the freshwater mollusk shells they encounter. Seashells purchased from tourist shops or dealers may include various freshwater and terrestrial shells as well. Non-marine items offered may include large and colorful tropical land snail shells, freshwater apple snail shells, and pearly freshwater unionid mussel shells. This can be confusing to collectors, as non-marine shells are often not included in their reference books.

Cultural significance [link]

Currency [link]

Main article: shell money

Seashells have been used as a medium of exchange in various places, including many Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean islands, also in North America, Africa and the Caribbean.

1742 drawing of shells of the money cowry, Cypraea moneta

The most common species of shells to be used as currency have been Cypraea moneta, the "money cowry", and certain tusk shells or dentalium, such as those used in North Western North America for many centuries.
Some tribes of the indigenous peoples of the Americas used shells for wampum and hair pipes.^[1] The Native American wampum belts were made of the shell of the quahog clam.
It is of historic interest that the Dutch East India Company, a major force in the colonization of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, amassed a large portion of its vast fortune via trading shell money of the species Cypraea moneta and Cypraea annulus, in exchange for commodities such as spices, exotic animals, and gemstones, all of which were considered valuable in Europe at the time.

Tools [link]

Seashells have often been used as tools, because of their strength and the variety of their shapes.

Giant clams (Family Tridacnidae) have been used as bowls, and when big enough, even as bathtubs and baptismal fonts.
Melo melo, the "bailer volute", is so named because Native Australians used it to bail out their canoes.
Many different species of bivalves have been used as scrapers, blades, clasps, and other such tools, due to their shape.
Some marine gastropods have been used for oil lamps, the oil being poured in the aperture of the shell, and the siphonal canal serving as a holder for the wick.

Horticulture [link]

Because seashells are in some areas a readily available bulk source of calcium carbonate, shells such as oyster shells are sometimes used as soil conditioners in horticulture. The shells are broken or ground into small pieces in order to have the desired effect of raising the pH and increasing the calcium content in the soil.

Religion and spirituality [link]

File:Travancore.jpg

A sacred chank shell on the flag of Travancore, India

Seashells have played a part in religion and spirituality, sometimes even as ritual objects.

In Christianity, the scallop shell is considered to be the symbol of Saint James the Great, see Pecten jacobaeus.
In Hinduism left-handed shells of Turbinella pyrum (the sacred shankha) are considered to be sacred to the god Vishnu. The person who finds a left-handed chank shell (one that coils to the left) is sacred to Vishnu, as well. The chank shell also plays an important role in Buddhism.
Cowries have often been considered to be symbols of female fertility. They were often treated as actual fertility charms. The dorsum of the shell resembles a pregnant belly, and the underside of the shell resembles a vulva. In the South Indian state of Kerala, cowries are used for making astrological predictions.
In Santería, shells are used for divination purposes.
The Moche culture of ancient Peru worshipped animals and the sea, and often depicted shells in their art.^[2]

Musical instruments [link]

Main article: Conch (musical instrument)

Hindu priest sounding a ritual trumpet made from Turbinella pyrum

Korean military procession with Charonia trumpets

Seashells have been used as musical instruments, wind instruments for many hundreds if not thousands of years. Most often the shells of large sea snails are used, as trumpets, by cutting a hole in the spire of the shell or cutting off the tip of the spire altogether. Various different kinds of large marine gastropod shells can be turned into "blowing shells", however the most commonly encountered species used as "conch" trumpets are:

The sacred chank, Turbinella pyrum, known in India as the shankha. In Tibet it is known as "dung-dkar".^[3]
The Triton shell also known as "Triton's trumpet" Charonia tritonis which is used as a trumpet in Melanesian and Polynesian culture and also in Korea and Japan. In Japan this kind of trumpet is known as the horagai. In Korea it is known as the nagak. In some Polynesian islands it is known as "pu". [1]
The Queen Conch Strombus gigas, is or was sometimes used as a trumpet in the Caribbean.

Personal adornment [link]

Use of gastropod shells, specifically cowries, in traditional dress of the Kikuyu people of Kenya, Africa.

File:Pearlykingandqueen.jpg

A Pearly King and Queen in London

Whole seashells or parts of sea shells have been used as jewelry or in other forms of adornment since prehistoric times. Mother of pearl was historically primarily a seashell product, although more recently some mother of pearl comes from freshwater mussels. Also see pearl.

Shell necklaces have been found in Stone Age graves as far inland as the Dordogne Valley in France.
Seashells are often used whole and drilled, so that they can be threaded like beads, or cut into pieces of various shapes. Sometimes shells can be found that are already "drilled" by predatory snails of the family Naticidae. Fine whole shell necklaces were made by Tasmanian Aboriginal women for more than 2,600 years. The necklaces represent a significant cultural tradition which is still practised by Palawa women elders. The shells used include pearly green and blue-green maireener (rainbow kelp) shells, brown and white rice shells, black cats' teeth shells and pink button shells.^[4]
Naturally-occurring, beachworn, cone shell "tops" (the broken-off spire of the shell, which often has a hole worn at the tip) can function as beads without any further modification. In Hawaii these natural beads were traditionally collected from the beach drift in order to make puka shell jewelry. Since it is hard to obtain large quantities of naturally-occurring beachworn cone tops, almost all modern puka shell jewelry uses cheaper imitations, cut from thin shells of other species of mollusk, or even made of plastic.
Shells historically have been and still are made into, or incorporated into, necklaces, pendants, beads, earrings, buttons, brooches, rings, hair combs, belt buckles and other uses.
The shell of the large "bullmouth helmet" sea snail, scientific name Cypraecassis rufa, was historically, and still is, used to make valuable cameos.
Mother of pearl from many seashells including species in the family Trochidae, Turbinidae, Haliotidae, and various pearly bivalves, has often been used in jewelry, buttons, etc.
In London, Pearly Kings and Queens traditionally wear clothing covered in patterns made up of hundreds of "pearl buttons", in other words, buttons made of mother-of-pearl or nacre. In recent years however, the majority of "pearl buttons" are imitations that are made of pearlescent plastic.

Crafts [link]

Main article: Sailor's Valentines

"Sailor's Valentines" were late 19th century decorative keepsakes which were made in the Caribbean, and which were often purchased by sailors to give to their loved ones back home for example in England. These valentines consisted of elaborate arrangements of small seashells glued into attractive symmetrical designs, which were encased on a wooden (usually octagonal) hinged box-frame. The patterns used often featured heart-shaped designs, or included a sentimental expression of love spelled out in small shells.

The making of shellwork artifacts is a practice of Aboriginal women from La Perouse in Sydney, New South Wales, dating back to the 19th century. Shellwork objects include baby shoes, jewelry boxes and replicas of famous landmarks, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The shellwork tradition began as an Aboriginal women's craft which was adapted and tailored to suit the tourist souvenir market, and which is now considered high art.^[5]

Architectural decoration [link]

Small pieces of colored and iridescent shell have been used to create mosaics and inlays, which have been used to decorate walls, furniture and boxes. Large numbers of whole seashells, arranged to form patterns, have been used to decorate mirror frames, furniture and man-made grottos.

Art [link]

Enormous seashell sculpture at Akkulam, Trivandum, India

Large sculpture of a scallop on the beach at Aldeburgh, England

Aphrodite, 1st century BC, 13 cms, 5 in

Illustration from an 18th-century book, edited by Albertus Seba. These decorative arrangements were a popular way to display seashells at the time

A very large outdoor sculpture at Akkulam of a gastropod seashell is a reference to the sacred chank shell Turbinella pyrum of India. Maggi Hambling designed a striking 13 ft (4 m) high sculpture of a scallop shell which stands on the beach at Aldeburgh, in England. The goddess of love, Venus or Aphrodite is often traditionally depicted rising from the sea on a seashell. In the Birth of Venus (Botticelli), Botticelli depicted the goddess Venus rising from the ocean on a scallop shell.

Poultry feeds [link]

Sea shells found in the creek and backwater of the coast of west India are used as an additive to poultry feed. They are crushed and mixed with jawar maaze and dry fish.^{[citation needed]}

Shells of other marine invertebrates [link]

Arthropods [link]

The moulted carapace of a lady crab found on the beach at Long Beach, Long Island, New York State

Shell of horseshoe crab on a beach

Many arthropods have sclerites, or hardened body parts, which form a stiff exoskeleton made up mostly of chitin. In crustaceans, especially those of the class Malacostraca (crabs, shrimps and lobsters, for instance), the plates of the exoskeleton may be fused to form a more or less rigid carapace. Moulted carapaces of a variety of marine malacostraceans often wash up on beaches. The horseshoe crab is an arthropod of the family Limulidae. The shells or exuviae of these arachnids are common in beach drift in certain areas of the world.

Sea urchins [link]

Sea urchin test

Some echinoderms such as sea urchins, including heart urchins and sand dollars, have a hard "test" or shell. After the animal dies, the flesh rots out and the spines fall off, and then fairly often the empty test washes up whole onto a beach, where it can be found by a beachcomber. These tests are fragile and easily broken into pieces.

Brachiopods [link]

A whole animal of the brachiopod Lingula anatina from Australia with the shell showing on the left

The brachiopods, or lamp shells, superficially resemble clams, but the phylum is completely unrelated to mollusks. Most lines of brachiopods ended during the Permian-Triassic extinction event, and their ecological niche was filled by bivalves. A few of the remaining species of brachiopods occur in the low intertidal zone and thus can be found live by beachcombers.

Annelids [link]

Some polychaetes, marine annelid worms in the family Serpulidae, secrete a hard tube made of calcium carbonate, adhering to stones or other shells. This tube resembles, and can be confused with, the shell of marine gastropod mollusks in the family Vermetidae, the worm snails.

Other more atypical kinds [link]

A few other categories of marine animals leave remains which might be considered "seashells" in the widest possible sense of the word.

Chelonians [link]

Sea turtles have a carapace and plastron of bone and cartilage which is developed from their ribs. Infrequently a turtle "shell" will wash up on a beach.

Hard corals [link]

Dish with beachworn coral pieces, marine gastropod shells, and echinoderm tests, from the Caribbean and the Mediterranean

Pieces of the hard skeleton of corals commonly wash up on beaches in areas where corals grow.

The construction of the shell-like structures of corals are aided by a symbiotic relationship with a class of algae, zooxanthellae. Typically a coral polyp will harbor particular species of algae, which will photosynthesise and thereby provide energy for the coral and aid in calcification,^[6] while living in a safe environment and using the carbon dioxide and nitrogenous waste produced by the polyp. Coral bleaching is a disruption of the balance between polyps and algae, and can lead to the breakdown and death of coral reefs.

Soft corals [link]

A x-ray photograph of a gorgonian

The skeletons of soft corals such as gorgonians, also known as sea fans and sea whips, commonly wash ashore in the tropics after storms.

Plankton and protists [link]

Marine diatoms form hard silicate shells

Plant-like diatoms and animal-like radiolarians are two forms of plankton which form hard silicate shells. Foraminifera and coccolithophore create shells known as "tests" which are made of calcium carbonate. All these shells and tests are usually (but in the case of foraminifera not always) microscopic in size.

References [link]

^ Ewers, John C. "Hair Pipes in Plains Indian Adornment", Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 164, pp. 29-85. United States Government Printing Office, Washington : 1957
^ Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.
^ Mitchell Clark © (1996). "Some Basics on Shell Trumpets and some very Basics on how to make them". furious.com. http://www.furious.com/perfect/shells.html. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
^ Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklaces, National Museum of Australia
^ Shellwork Sydney Harbour Bridge, National Museum of Australia Collections, accessed 18 April 201
^ Madl, P. and Yip, M. (2000). "Field Excursion to Milne Bay Province - Papua New Guinea". http://biophysics.sbg.ac.at/png/png3.htm. Retrieved 2006-03-31.

Books [link]

Abbott R. Tucker & S. Peter Dance, 1982, Compendium of Seashells, A full color guide to more than 4,200 of the World's Marine shells, E.P. Dutton, Inc, New York, ISBN 0-525-93269-0
Abbott R. Tucker, 1985, Seashells of the World: a guide to the better-known species, 1985, Golden Press, New York, ISBN 0-307-24410-5
Abbott, R. Tucker, 1986, Seashells of North America, St. Martin's Press, New York, ISBN 1-58238-125-9
Abbott, R. Tucker, 1974, American Seashells, Second edition, Van Nostrand Rheinhold, New York, ISBN 0-442-20228-8.

External links [link]

Look up seashell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Seashells

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Seashell

110 Photos of various seashells
Conchologists of America
Freshwater shells
National Museum of Australia Shell necklaces made by Palawa Elder.

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seashell

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

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