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Venus comb murex. Scientists speculate that the distinctively long and narrow spines are a protection against fish and other mollusks and prevent the mollusk from sinking into the soft, sandy mud where it is commonly found.
Image ID: 12970
Species: Venus comb murex, Murex pecten | Glory of the Sea cone shell, brown form. The Glory of the Sea cone shell, once one of the rarest and most sought after of all seashells, remains the most famous and one of the most desireable shells for modern collectors.
Image ID: 08732
Species: Glory of the Seas Cone, Conus gloriamaris | Young California Sea Lion Discovers a Seashell, Coronado Islands, Baja California, Mexico.
Image ID: 36536
Species: California Sea Lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado), Baja California, Mexico |
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Chestnut cowry.
Image ID: 34206
Location: San Diego, California, USA | Castle Geyser erupts with the colorful bacteria mats of Tortoise Shell Spring in the foreground. Castle Geyser reaches 60 to 90 feet in height and lasts 20 minutes. While Castle Geyser has a 12 foot sinter cone that took 5,000 to 15,000 years to form, it is in fact situated atop geyserite terraces that themselves may have taken 200,000 years to form, making it likely the oldest active geyser in the park. Upper Geyser Basin.
Image ID: 13426
Location: Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA | Chestnut cowrie with mantle extended, feather duster worm.
Image ID: 01061
Species: Chestnut Cowrie, Date Cowrie, Cypraea spadicea, Eudistylia polymorpha
Location: Santa Cruz Island, California, USA |
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Chestnut cowry, mantle exposed.
Image ID: 00624
Species: Chestnut Cowrie, Date Cowrie, Cypraea spadicea
Location: San Miguel Island, California, USA | Chestnut cowrie with mantle extended.
Image ID: 01062
Species: Chestnut Cowrie, Date Cowrie, Cypraea spadicea
Location: San Miguel Island, California, USA | Califonia cone, Coronado Islands.
Image ID: 02551
Species: California cone, Conus californicus
Location: Coronado Islands (Islas Coronado), Baja California, Mexico |
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Flamingo tongue snail.
Image ID: 02554
Species: Flamingo tongue cowrie, Cyphoma gibbosum
Location: Roatan, Honduras | Flamingo tongue snail.
Image ID: 02567
Species: Flamingo tongue cowrie, Cyphoma gibbosum
Location: Roatan, Honduras | Chestnut cowrie with mantle extended.
Image ID: 01035
Species: Chestnut Cowrie, Date Cowrie, Cypraea spadicea
Location: San Miguel Island, California, USA |
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Green abalone with mantle fringe visible extending outside shell.
Image ID: 09242
Species: Green abalone, Haliotis fulgens | Softshell turtle.
Image ID: 09805
Species: Softshell turtle, Apalone spinifera | A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21612
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA |
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A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21609
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA | A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21622
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA | A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21640
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA |
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A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21652
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA | A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21660
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA | A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21661
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA |
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A sea otter eats a clam that it has taken from the shallow sandy bottom of Elkhorn Slough. Because sea otters have such a high metabolic rate, they eat up to 30% of their body weight each day in the form of clams, mussels, urchins, crabs and abalone. Sea otters are the only known tool-using marine mammal, using a stone or old shell to open the shells of their prey as they float on their backs.
Image ID: 21662
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California, USA | Venus comb murex. Scientists speculate that the distinctively long and narrow spines are a protection against fish and other mollusks and prevent the mollusk from sinking into the soft, sandy mud where it is commonly found.
Image ID: 12971
Species: Venus comb murex, Murex pecten | Thorny oyster or spiny oyster.
Image ID: 12972
Species: Thorny oyster, Spondylus |
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Thorny oyster or spiny oyster.
Image ID: 12973
Species: Thorny oyster, Spondylus | Thorny oyster or spiny oyster.
Image ID: 12974
Species: Thorny oyster, Spondylus | Thorny oyster or spiny oyster.
Image ID: 12975
Species: Thorny oyster, Spondylus |
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Thorny oyster or spiny oyster.
Image ID: 12976
Species: Thorny oyster, Spondylus | Thorny oyster or spiny oyster.
Image ID: 12977
Species: Thorny oyster, Spondylus | Thorny oyster or spiny oyster.
Image ID: 12978
Species: Thorny oyster, Spondylus |
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