 Shells |
 Coquillages |
 Las
conchas |
| Seashells is a hard, rigid outer layer, which has evolved in a very wide variety of different animals. The shells that are perhaps most familiar and most commonly encountered, both in the wild and for sale as decorative objects, the external shells of marine mollusks. These are usually primarily composed of calcium carbonate, in the form of calcite or aragonite crystallised out in an organic matrix. This can take different forms, one being nacre or mother of pearl. Other kinds of animal seashells are made from chitin, bone and cartilage, or silica. |
Copyright © 2005-2008 - Bernard Déry. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without permission.