SEE THE PHOTOS: Want to see real ‘aliens’? Just wait for mollusks to open their eyes
Translated from Estonian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- A seashell found on the beach records the life of the soft-bodied mollusk that built it layer by layer.
- Shell colors, patterns and forms reflect the diversity and evolution of marine life over roughly 500 million years.
- Climate change and human activity threaten the marine life represented by these shells.
A seashell found on the beach is more than a piece of beauty shaped by nature. Its vivid colors, intricate patterns and unusual forms reveal the varied marine life that produced it, even as climate change and human activity threaten that life.
A shell is the layered record of a soft-bodied mollusk. The animals protect themselves with calcium carbonate crystals, continually expanding the structures they inhabit. The stripes and layers visible on a shell can reflect past seasons, the animal’s diet and its life cycle.
The diversity of shell shapes also mirrors about 500 million years of evolution. Early mollusks had simple cap-shaped or coiled shells. Today, their descendants include scallops, spiny sea snails and spiral-shaped nautiluses.
About this summary
Originally published by Postimees in Estonian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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