A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually 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 decomposed or been eaten by another animal.
Seashells are commonly found in beach drift, which is natural detritus deposited along strand lines 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.
sea shells are called as 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).
Seashells are collected all over the world because of their endless diversity, elegance of form, and bright colors. They also have been used to make jewelry, buttons, inlays, and other decorative items throughout history. In ancient times certain varieties, such as tooth shells and cowrie shells, were even used as money.
shell collecting, practice of finding and usually identifying the shells of mollusks, a popular avocation, or hobby, in many parts of the world. These shells, because of their bright colors, rich variety of shapes and designs, and abundance along seashores, have long been used for ornaments, tools, and coins. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder wrote extensively about them. In the ruins of ancient Pompeii and in a crypt in a Mayan pyramid in Yucatán, shells were found that may be the remains of ancient collections
The rarest, the most valuable, and the most beautiful shells are those that are found in the sea, particularly in tropical or subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean, and Mediterranean regions. Outstanding among these marine shells are various members of the families Cypraeid Ae (cowrie shells), Canidae (cone shells), Volutid Ae (volute shells), and Muricide (rock shells). One of the rarest and most desirable single species is Conus gloria Maris, a handsome cone shell that is the “glory of the sea.” This shell always commands a very good price on the market, and it is the only shell known to have been stolen from a large museum.
Sea shells are one of our most ancient decorations. Their earliest use was to string them into a necklace, or hang them from a cord as pendants. People still use them this way today. Shells are among the most remarkable designs found in nature. Seashells are the exoskeletons of mollusks such as snails, clams, oysters and many others.
Cleaning Seashells
Best way to take out a mollusk out of a seashell The best way, is to put the shell in the freezer for at least a day...
Alternative solutions Of course you can let the ants eat the entire shell by burying the shell in sand or earth. If...
Cleaning the exterior of a non-naturally-polished seashell which have often a bad looking appearance because of...
Getting rid of the periostracum (mainly conidia, Ranelli Dae & Strobilae
