Morphology & Shell
13 entries in the Protoreaster lincki compendium.
ProtoconchThe oldest, smallest, and most diagnostically honest part of any gastropod shell.TeleoconchThe shell's adult self, where the snail's true identity is written in spiral.ColumellaThe hidden spine of the spiral — the columella holds every whorl in place.UmbilicusThe tiny spiral eye at the base of every coiled snail shell, open or sealed, tells you which family it…OperculumA single calcareous trapdoor, forged by the foot, that locks the snail's soft body behind the shell.PeriostracumThe thin protein skin that gives a snail shell its living color and first line of defense.LabrumThe glossy, thickened rim that seals a snail's doorway to the reef.NacreA living brick-and-mortar cathedral of aragonite, glowing with borrowed light.Body whorlThe grandest chamber of the spiral, where the aperture opens and the animal lives.SpireWhorl upon whorl, the coiled tower that crowns every gastropod shell.VarixA swollen ridge raised from the shell wall, reading like a vein pressed beneath thin glass.ApertureThe shell's single great doorway—where flesh meets stone and identity is written in the curve of the lip.FascioleA ribbon wound tight against the rock, holding the tide's memory in its whorls.
Browse Morphology & Shell in the interactive codex →