Every now and again, I will grab an interesting shell from the bottom, and bring it home. Today I would like to share a couple of my shells with you. Please be aware that "shell poaching" is illegal in most states of Australia. I generally hide the shell inside my shorts.
Firstly, we have a lovely example of the "corkscrew shell", or "corkimimus shellicus". This is a very rare find, and I have only found 1 so far. As with all shells, they are created on the shores of France by hand.
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| Corkimimus shellicus. The rare corkscrew shell. |
Next, please take a look at this magnificent snail shell (in latin: snailem shellicus). This example is virtually flawless. A close examination reveals the intricate detail that make this shell one of the most beautiful in the ocean. These shells tend to be a home for beautiful "sea snails", which move gently along the seabed, nibbling at seaweed and nourishing the water around them -- until they are brutally ripped from their home by a Blowfish, and eaten alive while still screaming. Enjoy the pics!
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| Sad but beautiful. Previously a home for a lovely Sea Snail. |
Finally, have a look at this magical shell which I found just this afternoon. It is fairly worn away and needs a good clean, but one side of it displays every colour of the rainbow! This is a type of defence mechanism for the shell's inhabitant -- when a predator approaches, the swirling colours of the shell will often hypnotise it, and put it into a trance. This allows the shell's occupant to crawl away safely. I will dub this the "rainbow shell", obviously.
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| Rainbow! No camera can show the real beauty of this shell. |
Finally, I would like to say a few words about the ocean. I will be getting a bit "Zen-master" on you here, but bear with me. After my permitted 6 minutes of sunbathing (fair skin), I sat up and found myself hypnotised by the gentle waves breaking on the sand. It got me thinking about the ocean, that timeless puddle of water which covers two-thirds of our planet (more info here ). I had some very, very deep thoughts about the very nature of humanity and it's relationship to the magma-filled ball that we call "Earth". Unfortunately I forgot those thoughts on the drive home.
Now, to digress ... Every night for about 2 months, I have been putting Naturespace on my bedside speaker dock, playing the sound of the ocean waves. (Naturespace, more info here ) is "holographic audio" for iPhone and iPod Touch. It sounds amazing over the ear-buds, but the gentle sound of the waves works great through speakers too. It has literally become like a "sleep switch" to me -- I turn it on, I fall asleep. I don't even hear it any more. (Obviously this is a huge problem when I want to sleep away from home, because I can't ...) Anyway, try the App if you want -- it's completely free unless you want to buy more tracks of different environments. I use "Liquid Phase" which was $2 or something. But they're all great. There are rainforests, storms, beaches, summer nights, alien jungles ... All sorts.
Hopefully in the next day or so I will be posting an FAQ for new snorkellers!
Be the shark, not the coral!
-Gray
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