clithon

Clithon oualaniensis 小石蜑螺

many years ago, e cat sifted through quite a bit of e 'imported' sand on e artificial beach that is East Coast Park, & found plenty of these tiny (~0.5cm) shells that once house tiny snails.

they have wonderful patterns on them, & no two shells are identical! e cat spent a lot of time admiring them & wondering how e amazingly symmetrical patterns form on them - what exactly controls how pigments are deposited (if pigment deposition is how e patterns are formed - e cat really has no clue) as e shells form & grow? there must be millions & millions of them out there, & millions & millions of different patterns. nature never runs out of ideas =) which is probably why it never runs out of ways to inspire =)

http://shell.kwansei.ac.jp/~shell/pic_book/data06/oualanie.html
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/seashore/text/135.htm
http://valtat.org/gastro/clitou.html
http://www.gastropods.com/2/Shell_2492.html

[composed on 300805 & abandoned till 041105]

[ filed under: nature1 ]