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Home > Beadmaking & Materials > Organic Materials > Beads and SeashellsThe Architecture of a Univalve
This sliced whelk shows the main features of univalves (snails). The names of the parts are handy to know when one is identifying and discussing shells.
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The very tip is called the apex or protoconch.
The interior support is the columella.
Some shells have siphons at the end of the aperture to expel water and waste. |
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The apex and the rest of the top is called the spire.
The last encircling turn is the body whorl.The opening of the shell is the aperture, sometimes closed with a door-like operculum.
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Specimen courtesy of Roberto Ventura B. of Veracruz, Mexico.
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