Download or read book Fascinating Shells written by Andreia Salvador and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2022-03-17 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New Scientist Best Book of the Year Beautiful photographs of stunning shells from London's Natural History Museum, home to one of the most significant and comprehensive collections in the world. Collected and treasured for their beauty, used in religious rituals, or even traded as currency, shells have fascinated humans for millennia. Ancient and enchanting, dazzling in form and variety, these beautiful objects come from mollusks, one of the most diverse groups in the animal kingdom, including snails, oysters, cuttlefish, and chitons. Soft-bodied, these creatures rely on shells for protection from enemies and their environments, from snowy mountains to arid deserts, in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and the jungles of the tropics, on rocky shores, and in coral reefs. In this book, mollusk expert Andreia Salvador profiles some of the world’s most beautiful and quirky shells, each selected from the more than eight million specimens held in the collection at London’s Natural History Museum. We lock eyes with the hundred-eyed cowry, named after "the all-seeing one," the giant Argus Panoptes of Greek mythology. We see how shells' appearances translate into defense strategies, as with the zigzag nerite, which varies its patterning to deceive and confuse predators. And we meet shell inhabitants, such as the amber snail, which eats earthworms by sucking them up like spaghetti. Reproduced in full color and striking detail, these shells have much to reveal about the history of collecting, the science of taxonomy, and the human desire to understand the natural world.
Download or read book Cool Shells Creating Fun and Fascinating Collections written by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann and published by ABDO Publishing Company. This book was released on 2006-08-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains facts about collecting shells that will inspire the reader to start his or her own collection. Readers will gain a working knowledge of this hobby which includes background history of shells and mollusks dating back to the Bronze Age, research and resources, the best places to find, buy or trade shells, and how to organize, store and care for a shell collection. There is also a crafts section for the creative use of extra shells. Full-color photographs, materials & techniques, tips & sidebar information, a glossary and an index are all included in this title.
Download or read book Fascinating Shells written by Andreia Salvador and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2022-03-17 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published as Interesting Shells in 2022 by the Natural History Museum, London.
Download or read book Interesting Shells written by Andreia Salvador and published by . This book was released on 2022-02-24 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Shells are exoskeletons of living creatures and have fascinated humans for millennia. Interesting Shells presents portraits of beautiful specimens from the Natural History Museum's vast collections, each accompanied by a caption explaining thier unique characteristics--whether biological, historical or geographical"--Page 4 of cover
Download or read book Shells written by Joyce Tenneson and published by Down East Books. This book was released on 2011-10-15 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joyce Tenneson,s detailed photographic studies of luminous sea shells adrift on a velvet-soft background remind us that startling beauty exists even in the most ordinary places. These surprising images give us a unique window into these secret lives of the sea. Short selected quotes from literature illuminate these ethereal portraits.
Download or read book A Natural History of Shells written by Geerat J. Vermeij and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1995-04-23 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From “one of the master naturalists of our time” (American Scientist), a fascinating exploration of what seashells reveal about biology, evolution, and the history of life Geerat Vermeij wrote this “celebration of shells” to share his enthusiasm for these supremely elegant creations and what they can teach us about nature. Most popular books on shells emphasize the identification of species, but Vermeij uses shells as a way to explore major ideas in biology. How are shells built? How do they work? And how did they evolve? With lucidity and charm, the MacArthur-winning evolutionary biologist reveals how shells give us insights into the lives of animals today and in the distant geological past.
Download or read book Cool Shells Creating Fun and Fascinating Collections written by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann and published by ABDO. This book was released on 2006-08-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains facts about collecting shells that will inspire the reader to start his or her own collection. Readers will gain a working knowledge of this hobby which includes background history of shells and mollusks dating back to the Bronze Age, research and resources, the best places to find, buy or trade shells, and how to organize, store and care for a shell collection. There is also a crafts section for the creative use of extra shells. Full-color photographs, materials & techniques, tips & sidebar information, a glossary and an index are all included in this title.
Download or read book The Book of Shells written by M.G. Harasewych and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-12-10 with total page 658 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who among us hasn’t marveled at the diversity and beauty of shells? Or picked one up, held it to our ear, and then gazed in wonder at its shape and hue? Many a lifelong shell collector has cut teeth (and toes) on the beaches of the Jersey Shore, the Outer Banks, or the coasts of Sanibel Island. Some have even dived to the depths of the ocean. But most of us are not familiar with the biological origin of shells, their role in explaining evolutionary history, and the incredible variety of forms in which they come. Shells are the external skeletons of mollusks, an ancient and diverse phylum of invertebrates that are in the earliest fossil record of multicellular life over 500 million years ago. There are over 100,000 kinds of recorded mollusks, and some estimate that there are over amillion more that have yet to be discovered. Some breathe air, others live in fresh water, but most live in the ocean. They range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball and in weight from a few grams to several hundred pounds. And in this lavishly illustrated volume, they finally get their full due. The Book of Shells offers a visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most intriguing mollusk shells, each chosen to convey the range of shapes and sizes that occur across a range of species. Each shell is reproduced here at its actual size, in full color, and is accompanied by an explanation of the shell’s range, distribution, abundance, habitat, and operculum—the piece that protects the mollusk when it’s in the shell. Brief scientific and historical accounts of each shell and related species include fun-filled facts and anecdotes that broaden its portrait. The Matchless Cone, for instance, or Conus cedonulli, was one of the rarest shells collected during the eighteenth century. So much so, in fact, that a specimen in 1796 was sold for more than six times as much as a painting by Vermeer at the same auction. But since the advent of scuba diving, this shell has become far more accessible to collectors—though not without certain risks. Some species of Conus produce venom that has caused more than thirty known human deaths. The Zebra Nerite, the Heart Cockle, the Indian Babylon, the Junonia, the Atlantic Thorny Oyster—shells from habitats spanning the poles and the tropics, from the highest mountains to the ocean’s deepest recesses, are all on display in this definitive work.
Download or read book Good Night Seashells written by Adam Gamble and published by Good Night books. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Little shellers will squeal with delight as they learn about the fascinating world of seashells, including the warm- and cold-water shells of mollusks, conches, cones, whelks, tulip mussels, junonias, oysters, scallops, mussels, periwinkles, and more. Grab your pail and join the fun! This book is part of the bestselling Good Night Our World series, which includes hundreds of titles exploring iconic locations and exciting, child-friendly themes. This charming and educational board book will teach young children about the fascinating world of seashells.
Download or read book The Algorithmic Beauty of Sea Shells written by Hans Meinhardt and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-01-03 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating patterns on the shells of tropical sea snails are not only compellingly beautiful but also tell a tale of biological development. The decorative patterns are records of their own genesis, which follows laws such as those of dune formation or the spread of a flu epidemic. Hans Meinhardt has analyzed the dynamical processes that form these patterns and has retraced them in computer simulations. His book is exciting not only for the astonishing scientific knowledge it reveals but also for its fascinating pictures. An accompanying CD-ROM with the corresponding algorithms allows the reader to simulate the natural pattern formation and growth processes.
Download or read book The Algorithmic Beauty of Sea Shells written by Hans Meinhardt and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-08-02 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pigment patterns on tropical shells are of great beauty and diversity. Their mixture of regularity and irregularity is fascinating. A particular pattern seems to follow particular rules but these rules allow variations. No two shells are identical. The motionless patterns appear to be static, and, indeed, they consist of calci?ed material. However, as will be shown in this book, the underlying mechanism that generates this beauty is eminently dynamic. It has much in common with other dynamic systems that generate patterns, such as a wind-sand system that forms large dunes, or rain and erosion that form complex rami?ed river systems. On other shells the underlying mechanism has much in common with waves such as those commonly observed in the spread of an epidemic. A mollusk can only enlarge its shell at the shell margin. In most cases, only at this margin are new elements of the pigmentation pattern added. Therefore, the shell pattern preserves the record of a process that took place over time in a narrow zone at the growing edge. A certain point on the shell represents a certain moment in its history. Like a time machine one can go into the past or the future just by turning the shell back and forth. Having this complete historical record opens the possibility of decoding the generic principles behind this beauty.
Download or read book The Sound of the Sea Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans written by Cynthia Barnett and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Science Friday Best Science Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year A Library Journal Best Science and Technology Book of the Year A Tampa Bay Times Best Book of the Year A stunning history of seashells and the animals that make them that "will have you marveling at nature…Barnett’s account remarkably spirals out, appropriately, to become a much larger story about the sea, about global history and about environmental crises and preservation" (John Williams, New York Times Book Review). Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature’s creations since the dawn of humanity. They were money before coins, jewelry before gems, art before canvas. In The Sound of the Sea, acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives of the mollusks that make them. Spiraling out from the great cities of shell that once rose in North America to the warming waters of the Maldives and the slave castles of Ghana, Barnett has created an unforgettable history of our world through an examination of the unassuming seashell. She begins with their childhood wonder, unwinds surprising histories like the origin of Shell Oil as a family business importing exotic shells, and charts what shells and the soft animals that build them are telling scientists about our warming, acidifying seas. From the eerie calls of early shell trumpets to the evolutionary miracle of spines and spires and the modern science of carbon capture inspired by shell, Barnett circles to her central point of listening to nature’s wisdom—and acting on what seashells have to say about taking care of each other and our world.
Download or read book One Hundred Seashells written by Harold Feinstein and published by Bulfinch. This book was released on 2005-09-22 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This follow-up to "One Hundred Flowers" features gorgeous color photographs of seashells both familiar and exotic.
Download or read book Shells written by Therese Hopkins and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2009-01-15 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fun book, readers will learn about some of the fascinating animals that live in shells. Colorful photographs bring these amazing homes to life.
Download or read book Next Time You See a Seashell written by Emily R. Morgan and published by NSTA Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tells the amazing story behind seashells: how they are made by mollusks, used for protection and camouflage, and full of clues about all theyOCOve been through. Inspired by Next Time You See a Seashell, young readers will find these intricate objects even more fascinating when they discover their origins in slimy, snaily creatures. Awaken a sense of wonder in a child with these books and inspire elementary-age children to experience the enchantment of everyday phenomena such as seashells and sunsets."
Download or read book What Lives in a Shell written by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1994-04-22 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes a shell like a house? A house is a home for you, a nest is a home for a bird, and a cave is a home for a bear. But for some animals a shell is a home. Snails and turtles and crabs and clams all have shells that act as their homes and protect them from harm. In this book you'll learn all about these and other crustaceous creatures, for whom a shell is just the right sort of home.
