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Schooner Specimen Shells
by Ross Mayhew creator of The Mollusc of the Moment Articles |
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Lorois, 1852 |
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Family: Argonautidae Species: Argonauta nouryi Lorois, 1852 Common Name: Nouryi's Argonaut Photo Courtesy of Guido Poppe |
| The
Argonaut molluscs (A family in the Class Cephalopoda)
have only vestigial shells, but their egg cases on the other hand, are
justifiably famous!! Once a year, the female Argonauta carefully places
all her eggs in a light, fragile case that she accompanies upon the waves,
to act as a little "ark" for her young, until they hatch. This is the
shell which is pictured above.
Argonauta nouryi Lorois, 1852 is one of the rarest of the small family (only 8 known species), and its elongate shape makes it aesthetically superior to most. It is found only in a limited area off Western Mexico, and a lot of conchologists would KILL to obtain one :o). |