Is the Blog Logo a Real Shell?

Yes, it is! It’s an Architectonica perspectiva (Linnaeus, 1758), or if you prefer, the “sundial”. And isn’t it a beauty?

The image showing the living animal at the top of this post was taken by Ria Tan, and can be found on his wildsingapore flickr page.

I have only ever seen two Architectonica perspectiva shells inhabited by live animals. Of course, I carefully put them back in the sand from where they emerged at low tide on a quiet beach.

Look at the intricate spiral of this shell; the underside is just as fabulous as the top. My specimen in the image below is 240mm in diameter.

Architectonica perspectiva (Linnaeus, 1758) Sunda islands, Indonesia

Like many molluscs, Architectonica perspectiva spends most of its life living in the sand.

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