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+--- Thread: Help needed to ID shells from Turks Islands (/showthread.php?tid=13079)
Help needed to ID shells from Turks Islands - zookeeper53 - 03-03-2015
A friend found these on a beach in the Turks Islands. I've attached a pic. Does anyone know what they are?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Marsha
RE: Help needed to ID shells from Turks Islands - paul monfils - 03-03-2015
These are shell plates of chitons. I can't name the species from this picture, but chitons are a separate class of mollusks, which have a shell made up of 8 overlapping plates held together by a muscular band around the outer edge, called the girdle. They live attached to rocks and other hard surfaces. When they die, the girdle and soft parts decompose, allowing the individual shell plates to scatter and be washed ashore. Here are a few pictures of living chitons:
http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=5967637
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2005/07/chitons-on-bermuda.html
http://www.treknature.com/gallery/photo200627.htm
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RE: Help needed to ID shells from Turks Islands - zookeeper53 - 03-04-2015
Thank you so much! They looked familiar to me but I just couldn't place them.