Identification of shell

[micmic]

Hi, I pick something like this on the beach yesterday. Can anyone tell me what's the name of this shell ?

<a href="http://www.badongo.com/pic/477088" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.badongo.com/pic/477088">http://www.badongo.com/pic/477088</a><!-- m --></a>

[micmic]

hi, Paul,

Thank you for your reply, it is so detail.

Wow... can not imagine that it is the internal structure. I have search in google and tried to find out what's the name. However, i eventually give up finding.

I never see this in my life time, i thought it is a "rare shell". lol. Anyway, I will still keep it with my seashell collection.

Thanks for the useful information. I have learn a lot from your site.

[paul monfils]

The scientific name of this shell is Spirula spirula. It is not actually a "shell" in the usual sense, though it does come from a mollusc. This is an internal structure from a small deep water squid-like animal. The chambers of the structure are filled with a gas that helps the animal maintain buoyancy.  When the animal dies, the soft parts decompose and the gas-filled "shell" rises to the surface, where it can float for many miles until it is finally washed up on a beach. More information can be found here:

<a href="http://www.tolweb.org/Spirula_spirula/19989" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tolweb.org/Spirula_spirula/19989">http://www.tolweb.org/Spirula_spirula/19989</a><!-- m --></a>

<a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/ram-s-horn-squid" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.answers.com/topic/ram-s-horn-squid">http://www.answers.com/topic/ram-s-horn-squid</a><!-- m --></a>

.  <span class="petit">--Last edited by Paul Monfils on 2007-02-27 05:49:06 --</span>