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Contradusta Pulchella
''Contradusta pulchella'', common name the pretty cowry or beautiful (little) cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Cypraeidae, the cowries. Description The shells of these quite uncommon cowries reach on average of length, with a minimum size of and a maximum size of . The surface of the pear-shaped shells is smooth and shiny, their basic color is usually whitish or yellowish, with many small beige spots, two longitudinal irregular dark brown stain-like patches and one or two light brown transversal bands, but their pattern is very variable. The base and the margins are whitish with brown spots, while the teeth are dark brown. In the living cowries the mantle is clear, with long sensorial papillae. Mantle and foot are well developed, with external antennae. The lateral flaps of the mantle may completely hide the shell surface and can be quickly retracted into the shell opening. ''Contradusta pulchella'' is quite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gastropod Shell
The gastropod shell is part of the body of a Gastropoda, gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some gastropods appear shell-less (slugs) but may have a remnant within the mantle, or in some cases the shell is reduced such that the body cannot be retracted within it (semi-slug). Some snails also possess an operculum that seals the opening of the shell, known as the Aperture (mollusc), aperture, which provides further protection. The study of mollusc shells is known as conchology. The biological study of gastropods, and other molluscs in general, is malacology. Shell morphology terms vary by species group. Shell layers The gastropod shell has three major layers secreted by the Mantle (mollusc), mantle. The calcareous central layer, tracum, is typically made of calcium carbonate precipitated into an organic matrix known as c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
