Shells
The shells of most species of sea snails are spirally coiled. Some, though, have conical shells, and these are often referred to by the common name of limpets. In one unusual family (Juliidae), the shell of the snail has become two hinged plates closely resembling those of a bivalve; this family is sometimes called the "bivalved gastropods".
The shells of living species of sea snails range in size from Syrinx aruanus, the largest living shelled gastropod species at 91 cm, to minute species whose shells are under 1 mm at adult size.
Because the shells of sea snails are strong and durable in many cases, as a group they are well represented in the fossil record.
The shells are found in a variety of shapes and sizes, but are normally very small.
Read more about this topic: Sea Snail
Famous quotes containing the word shells:
“Sing there upon the beach
Till all’s beyond death’s reach,
And empty shells reply
That all things flourish.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Words today are like the shells and rope of seaweed which a child brings home glistening from the beach and which in an hour have lost their lustre.”
—Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)
“As many as the shells that are on the shore, so many are
the pains of love; the darts that wound are steeped in
much poison.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)