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Question about shells

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Question about shells
06-07-2007, 07:27 PM,
#1
darcy Offline
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Question about shells
What causes the holes in shells?  I collected shells on a South Carolina beach last week.  Some are solid (halves) and some have a single very uniform hole on one end.  Thanks!
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06-08-2007, 12:41 PM,
#2
darcy Offline
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Question about shells
That makes sense.  Thanks so much for answering my question!! <img src="images/smiley/smile.gif" alt="" border="0" />
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06-08-2007, 03:04 PM,
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paul monfils Offline
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Question about shells
Such holes are caused by predatory snails, usually in the family Naticidae (commonly called "moon snails"). These snails regularly feed on bivalve mollusks like clams, mussels and oysters. They use their radula, a sort of tongue covered with tiny toothlike projections, to rasp a hole in the bivalve shell, allowing them to insert their proboscis and feed on the soft parts of the bivalve.  <span class="petit">--Last edited by Paul Monfils on 2007-06-18 04:58:20 --</span>
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