Overview

Trades like colns, collected like precious stones, revered like amulets, conches are the mysterious ladies of the ocean: collared and luminous, chiselled or smooth, they elicit curiosity in divers and enthuse collectors. This volume, with its ample repertory of underwater images, drawings and biological tables, is aimed at all those who love these gems from the ocean and wish to discover their thousand secrets. Prodigies of nature, harmonious shapes on materials of an intriguing lucidity, conches are splendid custodian of a secret dating from the beginning of time: in fact, what arcane law of nature has given these ""insignificant"" molluscs the ability to build perfect logarithmic spirals, shields of polished porcelain, iridescent mother-of-pearl and pearls of sublime luminosity? Only in this century has the exploration of the abysses, a conquest of modern science, begun to lift the veil of mystery: biochemistry and biological engineering is writing completely new chapters on the dynamics leading to the construction of the extraordinary ""buildings"" represented by conches. This volume, equipped with splendid underwater photographs, hundreds of colour illustrations, tables and graphs, covers everything science has discovered on these authentic natural gems, their habitats, evolution and physiology. More than a simple biological, it contains: Over 400 shell types illustrated and described; it is in a handy format; ""White Star Guides Underwater World"" series.

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