SECTIONED GASTROPOD SHELLS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EY

SECTIONED GASTROPOD SHELLS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Many years ago, while at a commercial-shell dealer in southern California, I came across some marine gastropod shells that had been sectioned (= cut/sliced”) vertically. I bought a few, put them in a picture frame, and hung the frame in my office. Sectioned shells have their own beauty. Some can be easy to recognize as to what the original genus and species are, but some are more challenging and require some knowledge of shell morphology vs. families/genera. 

I decided to post an image of my frame containing the sections (identified for your benefit) and also decided to include another image, showing what the original shells looked like.

Sectioned Shells: Starting at the top left, "moving" in a clockwise position:

Pleuroploca trapezium (Linnaeus, 1758)

   Family Fasciolariidae

   Indo-Pacific region, shallow marine, lives under corals.

   This specimen is 14.5 cm in height.

   Tibia delicutaula? (Nevill, 1881)

   Family Strombidae

   Arabian Sea. Deep water, moderately rare.

   This specimen is 9.5 cm in height.

    Lambis scorpius (Linnaeus, 1758)

   Western Pacific, lives in coral-reef areas.

   This specimen is 14.5 cm in height.

    Turritella cerebra

   Family Turritellidae

   Indo-Pacific region, shallow marine.

   This specimen is 10.5 cm in height.

What The Non-sectioned Shells [of the same species illustrated above] Look Like:

These figures are also arranged clockwise (starting in the upper left corner), as in the preceding figure.

When I recently checked online, I found the following site where sectioned shells (very affordable) are for sale:

Seashell Supply and Emporium:  seashellsupply.com

(located in Camarillo, southern California) 

You can purchase sectioned shells (as well as complete shells) at other locations near you (check the internet).