Seashells - Gastropods

The Lurid Cowrie, Cypraea lurida, is not as mottled as the other cowries, but just as shiny, with fa...

A type of sea-snail, the Slit-Limpet, Emarginula elongata, gets its food by browsing for algae. 1.5...

The Keyhole Limpet, Diodora italica, clings to rocks in shallow water. 4.8 cm long. Photograph © Jam...

A chorus line of tiny Keyhole Limpets, Diodora gibbula, all around 1 cm long. Photograph © James Pri...

Patella coerulea, the Mediterranean Limpet, attaches firmly to rocks very close to shore. 2.5 and 4...

Patella rustica, these Limpets are 1.5 to 3.5 cm long. Photograph © James Prineas, 2003

Limpet identification is difficult and frequently requires expert knowledge. This specimen, 4 cm lon...

Mediterranean Limpets, Patella caerulea, showing both conical tops and the dark, nacreous center of...

The Green Ormer, Haliotis tuberculata, is happily quite common on Kythera. Its surface is finely etc...

The Green Ormer, Haliotis tuberculata has a lovely, green-tinged, mother-of-pearl interior. Photogra...

The outside of the Common Ormer, Haliotis lamellosa, has a sculpted, creased and darkly mottled appe...

The inside of the Common Ormer, Haliotis lamellosa, is lined with gorgeous mother-of-pearl. Photogra...

Three Rough Star Shells, Astrea rugosa, in various stages of cleaning. At the top, an uncleaned shel...

Rough Star Shell, Astrea rugosa, 4.5 cm in diameter. Photograph © James Prineas, 2003

An uncleaned Rough Star Shell, Astrea rugosa, shows the bumpy, calcerous coating and thorny spirals...

The Rough Star Shell, Astrea rugosa, has a brilliant orange operculum, the little door that allows t...

Rough Star Star, Astrea rugosa,, with the operculum set in place to show how the snail closes itself...

The Thick Top Shell, Monodonta articulata, is very commonly found on rocks in the shallow waters of...

Some beautiful Cowries of the species Cypraea spurca, whose naturally glossy shells give them a poli...

The underside of a Lurid Cowrie,Cypraea lurida, showing its silly grin. 4.5 cm long. Photograph © Ja...