Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sunday Spinelessness - Molluscan mausoleum
Going way back today, to a photo I took about 6 years ago:
This is from the high tide mark at Aramoana, and the shells that dominate the little assemblage are Zethalia zelandica - the New Zealand wheel shell. I don't have anything particularly important or meaningful to say about these shells. I was just struck by the diversity of the patterns and colours that they bear, and the concentration of shells into a relatively small stretch of a relatively large beach. Zethalia live in sandy conditions and somewhat deep water, so the shells presumably washed in from the harbour and had collected over time at a point at which the waves and currents coalesce.
This is from the high tide mark at Aramoana, and the shells that dominate the little assemblage are Zethalia zelandica - the New Zealand wheel shell. I don't have anything particularly important or meaningful to say about these shells. I was just struck by the diversity of the patterns and colours that they bear, and the concentration of shells into a relatively small stretch of a relatively large beach. Zethalia live in sandy conditions and somewhat deep water, so the shells presumably washed in from the harbour and had collected over time at a point at which the waves and currents coalesce.
Labels: Dunedin, environment and ecology, photos, sunday spinelessness, zethalia
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