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Shells: Jewels from the Sea
Chosen from the world's finest collection fo seashells and magnificently photographed in full color, here are nerely 600 examples representing a boundless diversity and a fantastic array of forms.
Seashells represent a precise union of visual beauty and functional anatomical design. Renowned still-life photographer Murrey Alcosser lovingly captures the diverse shapes, colos, and textures of these evolutionary landmarks, providing a rare vision of perfection and order—"a windown enhancing our knowledge of the natural world."
Seashells represent a precise union of visual beauty and functional anatomical design. Renowned still-life photographer Murrey Alcosser lovingly captures the diverse shapes, colos, and textures of these evolutionary landmarks, providing a rare vision of perfection and order—"a windown enhancing our knowledge of the natural world."
224 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1989
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July 27, 2025
Another great book finally moved from my "reference" shelf to "read," (thanks to my young grandson, who's starting to notice the various shells scattered around our house, so we decided to actually look at — and in my case, actually read — some of my books).
Unlike other handbooks and field guides which are indeed true reference resources, this book is a beautifully illustrated* introduction to the various shell families that also provides fascinating factual insight into "the origin, function and formation of seashells, while tracing their evolutionary path from the most primitive living mollusk to the elaborately spined, webbed and patterned marvels that inspire scholarly collectors and holiday beachcombers alike." (And okay, such purple prose aside, the text can also get a bit jargony at times — "the deep sinus at the apical end of the aperture allows a nearly linear flow of water through the mantle cavity" — but that is much more the exception than the rule here.)
The book largely focuses on tropical gastropods, because — duh — that's where most shells (and nearly all of the "cool" ones) are. But it also includes some nice examples of polar and deep-ocean shells, which are coming into their own as scientists explore those previously-hard-to-reach zones (a very good thing), and trawl fisherman just dredge the $@!% out of them (a very, very bad thing).
As with some of my similar reviews, I've found the best way (for me at least) to summarize this type of book is to just list some of the amazing things I learned here, to wit:
ANYWAY—just a wonderful book with surprisingly high production values for its time (1989 publication).
_______
* The shells photographed so beautifully here come from the William D. Bledsoe Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History — will have to get down there again soon to see just how many of these are actually on display!
** "It may seem bewildering that many of the most highly evolved descendants (slugs, nudibranchs, shipworms) of a group derived from a small, shell-less, worm-like ancestor would, after more than half a billion years, return to a relatively small, shell-less and worm-like condition. But this merely underscores the fact that any form is but an interim solution to a particular problem of function, and is but a small indication of the plasticity and responsiveness of the molluscan form to the environment."
___________________________________
WITH APOLOGIES, THE PERSONAL NONSENSE: So yeah, I dove a lot when living in Taiwan back in the '80s-'90s, which came to an end when my first child was born (father of above grandson; and not discontinued for any specific reason other than that parenthood takes up a LOT of your time). Anyway…back then, underwater shell collecting (as opposed to beachcombing for already dead and empty shells) was not frowned on as it apparently is today; and frankly, as most long-time divers end up getting involved in one or another peripheral hobby — photography, spearfishing, etc. — in order to simply stay motivated in the sport, I got into shelling since it was the one I could afford.
So aside from the shells themselves, I learned a few other interesting things. First, many of these suckers are edible — most murexes include a tasty bite-size morsel when you boil the shell, and I once brought back a large Triton's Trumpet that gave me a fist-sized piece of meat with the color and consistency of the finest octopus — just fantastic sliced and served cold with mayonnaise! Also, we collected a few giant clams (in my defense, I was young and they were REALLY plentiful), to use as ashtrays or whatever, and found that the adductor muscle was basically like a giant scallop, which we would cut out and eat raw on the beach as basically salty clam sushi. I know — I feel terrible about it now, but different times, man.
Unlike other handbooks and field guides which are indeed true reference resources, this book is a beautifully illustrated* introduction to the various shell families that also provides fascinating factual insight into "the origin, function and formation of seashells, while tracing their evolutionary path from the most primitive living mollusk to the elaborately spined, webbed and patterned marvels that inspire scholarly collectors and holiday beachcombers alike." (And okay, such purple prose aside, the text can also get a bit jargony at times — "the deep sinus at the apical end of the aperture allows a nearly linear flow of water through the mantle cavity" — but that is much more the exception than the rule here.)
The book largely focuses on tropical gastropods, because — duh — that's where most shells (and nearly all of the "cool" ones) are. But it also includes some nice examples of polar and deep-ocean shells, which are coming into their own as scientists explore those previously-hard-to-reach zones (a very good thing), and trawl fisherman just dredge the $@!% out of them (a very, very bad thing).
As with some of my similar reviews, I've found the best way (for me at least) to summarize this type of book is to just list some of the amazing things I learned here, to wit:
- Some shells develop protective coloration (e.g., spots, stripes, etc) as a defense primarily against vertebrate predators (i.e., fish), as most invertebrates hunt by smell rather than sight. Some shells such as the surface-floating "bubble shells" even evolved "protective shading" so that they are dark blue/purple on top and lighter on the bottom, so that when viewed from above they blend with the ocean, and when viewed from below they blend with the sky, (much like some WWI aircraft camouflage).
- And speaking of predators, mollusks include the same wide range of eating styles as do vertebrates — some are pastoral "vegetarians" (feeding on algae or sifting silt), while others are SERIOUS predators, quickly or (often) very slowly killing and devouring their prey. There are even "vampire snails" that attach themselves to sleeping sharks or rays and feed on their blood. Relatedly and also like mammals, most predator shells are loners, while "grazing" shells such as olives can live in large herd-like colonies.
- And speaking of feeding, many "tinted" shells get their color from what they eat; e.g., a shell that lives on pink coral may ultimately built that color into its growing shell, etc.
- Many shells with fancy knobs, leaves and spines grow in spurts of rapid shell growth followed by a pause to add a row defensive "varices;" these generally occur in fixed increments of either 180° (resulting in a "maple leaf" design), or 60° which results in the common "caltrop" configuration, (see murex photo way below).
- Cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish) have "de-evolved shells" from their nautiloid and ammonoid ancestors into (A) those internal "cuttlefish bones" placed in birdcages for beak-sharpening; (B) those clear, blade-like strips you find when eating squid (at least when the whole animal is prepared as in Asia, vs. Western-style squid rings); and (C)...well, nothing in octopuses, where they have disappeared altogether.
- And speaking of nautiloids, the "paper nautilus" is neither a proper nautilus nor even shell at all — it's actually an egg case that evolved separately into that classic Fibonacci spiral form, and so is a perfect example of evolutionary convergence and a "testament to the functional constraints of environment on form."
- Those smooth and glassy cowrie and olive shells are in the evolutionary process of reducing or internalizing their shells, and may in some distant future once again become totally shell-less, going the way of those beautiful ocean nudibranchs (ooh, ahh) or their gross terrestrial counterparts, slugs (yuck; see cool quote at the end of the review**).
(Cowrie shell on it's SLLOOOOWWW journey to becoming just a snail—again…)
- I've long been kinda fascinated by taxonomy — basically, scientific naming — and in this area, seashells do NOT disappoint: we have here the Knobbed Whelk, Spiral Babylon, Miller's Nutmeg, the whole Wentletrap family (Noble, Precious and Magnificent), Lazarus Jewel Box, Pacific Lion's Paw (which frankly looks like every other scallop to me; see book jacket photo), and — my favorite — the Exalted Nut Clam.
- And speaking of™ taxonomy, accurate taxonimic classification remains very much an evolving science, especially as we better understand genetics. Shells that were previously grouped together based on appearance are now being reevaluated and reclassified based on genetic rather than visual characteristics. Science!
- The Squamose—aka "Snakeskin"—Chiton (left)…is that just the coolest thing or what?
(Can Google these for even clearer images of their remarkably snakeskin-like mantles)
- I never understood before the function of the "siphon channels" that run along the aperture of most gastropods, but I now know that there are distinct "inhalent" and "exhalent" channels that serve as the "mouths" and "butts" of such shells. Cool and gross!
- The book mentioned a few "perverse" shells, which got me curious as to just what the hell that "-verse" suffix means. Turns out, it just means "turn," so we get OBVERSE (“turn toward”), REVERSE (“turn back”), CONVERSE (“turn with”), INVERSE (“turn inside out”), UNIVERSE (“turned into one”), DIVERSE (“turn separately”), AVERSE (“turn away”), SUBVERT ("turn from below") and finally PERVERSE (“turn the wrong way”). Also learned some new, shell-specific vocab here, such as periostracum and byssus.
- And yes, while gastropods are the true stars here, bivalves also get their due, proving that at least some of them are beautiful, (or can at least be beautifully photographed):
ANYWAY—just a wonderful book with surprisingly high production values for its time (1989 publication).
_______
* The shells photographed so beautifully here come from the William D. Bledsoe Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History — will have to get down there again soon to see just how many of these are actually on display!
** "It may seem bewildering that many of the most highly evolved descendants (slugs, nudibranchs, shipworms) of a group derived from a small, shell-less, worm-like ancestor would, after more than half a billion years, return to a relatively small, shell-less and worm-like condition. But this merely underscores the fact that any form is but an interim solution to a particular problem of function, and is but a small indication of the plasticity and responsiveness of the molluscan form to the environment."
___________________________________
WITH APOLOGIES, THE PERSONAL NONSENSE: So yeah, I dove a lot when living in Taiwan back in the '80s-'90s, which came to an end when my first child was born (father of above grandson; and not discontinued for any specific reason other than that parenthood takes up a LOT of your time). Anyway…back then, underwater shell collecting (as opposed to beachcombing for already dead and empty shells) was not frowned on as it apparently is today; and frankly, as most long-time divers end up getting involved in one or another peripheral hobby — photography, spearfishing, etc. — in order to simply stay motivated in the sport, I got into shelling since it was the one I could afford.
So aside from the shells themselves, I learned a few other interesting things. First, many of these suckers are edible — most murexes include a tasty bite-size morsel when you boil the shell, and I once brought back a large Triton's Trumpet that gave me a fist-sized piece of meat with the color and consistency of the finest octopus — just fantastic sliced and served cold with mayonnaise! Also, we collected a few giant clams (in my defense, I was young and they were REALLY plentiful), to use as ashtrays or whatever, and found that the adductor muscle was basically like a giant scallop, which we would cut out and eat raw on the beach as basically salty clam sushi. I know — I feel terrible about it now, but different times, man.
(That was actually one of my delicious murexes. Like most shells, these are surprisingly hard to spot underwater as they are TOTALLY encrusted with algae, coral and other crud, and they take FOREVER to clean. That's also why most dive clubs try to get at least one dentist or dental assistant as a member, because no tools are better for cleaning shells than old dental picks!)Also—never quite understand why, but certain locations were known hotspots for particular shells. Off the southern coast was a formation we called Conch Rock, because whenever you dove there you would invariably find 1-2 giant spider conches (also edible), as well as the occasional scorpion conch; and then up north off another chunk of shore you'd invariably find murexes and eggshell cowries. Water temperature, wave action, sand vs. coral base…not sure what it was, but it was like driving through different neighborhoods.
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