Posts tagged shell
Embryo of Chick in Shell
Shell removed and amniotic sac dessicated after 19 days incubation. Note the air sac on the left of the egg; without that, the chick would suffocate. The in the air sac oxygen is replenished through micropores in the shell. These micropores are also why if you have a particularly smelly fish, for example, in the same refrigerator as your eggs, the eggs will taste like fish even long after the fish has been removed.
Handbook of Photomicography. H. Lloyd Hind and W. Brough Randles, 1913.
by Alexandre-Isidore Leroy de Barbe (1777-1828)
That’s quite the curio case for the 18th century!
AST, Balthasar van der
Lizard and Shell
1620s
Gouache, 313 x 202 mm
Institut Néerlandais, Paris
Pearly Nautilus with the Shell Laid Open
Those chambers in the shell are the old “homes” of the nautilus. As the nautilus grows bigger, it expands its shell outward, and forms a septum behind itself as it moves forward.
The Animal Kingdom Arranged According to its Organization. Baron Cuvier, 1831.
Radiograph of Nautilus Shell
Though it’s not a perfect golden spiral, the chambered nautilus shells (of both the extant and extinct species) are some of the finest natural examples of a logarithmic spiral.
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low-vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea! - Oliver Wendell Holmes
On Growth and Form. D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, 1945
Land Snail Shells
Did you know that the science of studying gastropod shells is called conchology? Almost 90% of gastropod shells coil to the right. Oh, oh, and the color “Tyrian purple” (the purple that only emperors and royalty were allowed to - or could afford to - wear) comes from the Spiny dye-murex shell!
Shells are cool!
![New Land Shells from Taviuni [Taveuni] - Click through to greatly enlarge these teeny guys!
These little snails are from the third-largest Figian island, Tavenui. Tavenui is one of the best-preserved islands of the Fiji archipelago, as the population is almost entirely indigenous populations (living a simple sustenance lifestyle), and foreign predators like the mongoose have never gotten a foothold. Luckily, as the business of ecotourism continues to expand, the incentive to keep the island (and its native flora & fauna) intact. The rich volcanic soil that comprises the island would otherwise likely be exploited for palm oil and coconut production.
I’ll take awesome teeny snails, unique fruit bats, orange doves, and Kula parrots over a few tons of palm oil any day.
From Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London for the year 1876.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrh31dOIBD1qk931ho1_400.jpg)
New Land Shells from Taviuni [Taveuni] - Click through to greatly enlarge these teeny guys!
These little snails are from the third-largest Figian island, Tavenui. Tavenui is one of the best-preserved islands of the Fiji archipelago, as the population is almost entirely indigenous populations (living a simple sustenance lifestyle), and foreign predators like the mongoose have never gotten a foothold. Luckily, as the business of ecotourism continues to expand, the incentive to keep the island (and its native flora & fauna) intact. The rich volcanic soil that comprises the island would otherwise likely be exploited for palm oil and coconut production.
I’ll take awesome teeny snails, unique fruit bats, orange doves, and Kula parrots over a few tons of palm oil any day.
From Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London for the year 1876.
It’s a natural history kind of day. A reptilian one at that.
Shell and skull of loggerhead turtle.
Erpétologie générale, ou, Histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. A. Duméril, 1834.
Marine gastropod molluscs! These are a few tropical varieties, such as some of the Murex genus. Murex are carnivorous and large and odd. Trust me, seeing one of them track down their food and eat is just plain bizarre and almost alien.
The Animal Kingdom, arranged according to its organization, serving as a foundation to the Natural History of Animals. Baron Cuvier, 1834.
A blog for all biological and medical ephemera, from the age of Abraham through the era of medical quackery and cure-all nostrums. Featuring illustrations, history, and totally useless trivia from the diverse realms of nature and medicine.
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