Ocean Shell Spiral Photograph by Sandi OReilly - Fine Art America

Ocean Shell Spiral is a photograph by Sandi OReilly which was uploaded on June 13th, 2013. The photograph may be purchased as wall art, home decor, apparel, phone cases, greeting cards, and more. All products are produced on-demand and shipped worldwide within 2 - 3 business days.
I collect shells and during a recent trip to the beach, found some interesting ones that had washed up after a strong coastal storm. There are many islands along our coast where you can go to find unusual shells. This image was taken while in the water being washed ashore, so the sea foam surrounds it. I had to shoot fast as the water was beginning to take it back out again. This is a Gastropod type of shell. This image is in the square formatThe gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage. In land snails, in some freshwater snails and in intertidal marine snails, the shell is also an essential protection against the sun, and against drying outMost gastropod shells are spirally coiled. The coiling is usually right-handed, but in some taxa the coiling is left-handed and in a very few species there can be both right-handed and left-handed individuals. The gastropod shell has several layers, and is typically made of calcium carbonate precipitated out into an organic matrix known as conchiolin. The shell is secreted by a part of the molluscan body known as the mantle. The study of mollusc shells, including gastropod shells, is called conchologyNature photography by Sandi O'Reilly, All Rights Reserved and Copyrighted. If you have any questions, feel free to email me through FAA's email service, glad to helpALL FAA WATERMARKS ARE REMOVED AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE. Thank you!!