Shell Specimen: Coral
“Shelling” is a fun for professional scientist and amateurs alike. A majority of the shells below are composed of the mineral aragonite CaCO3. Many of my modern or “recent” shells have fossil relatives in my Fossil Gallery. Below I have organized images and data of some of my sea shells.
The phylum Cnidarian consist of coral, sea pens, fresh water hydras, sea jellies and sea anenomes. The most common modern Cnidarian remains are coral. To see my fossil coral click here. To see my model and toy coral click here.
Kingdom: Animalia – Phylum: Cnidaria
(Coral)
Brain Coral
Brain Coral
Colonial Coral
Colonial Coral
Coral Encrusted on Snail Shell
Antler Coral
Fungia (Plate Coral)
Colonial Coral (Dorsal – top view)
Colonial Coral (Lateral – side view)
Data: Dance, S. Peter, Smithsonian Handbook: Shells, The photographic regognition guide to seashells of the world. A Dorling Kindersley Book.