Identifying my collection - Item A

[Emily G.]

Here I begin on this journey of identification!  Thank you all for the kind welcomes!  After looking through some of the resources on this site, I've come to wonder if this might be a Crustacean of some kind.  This comes from my great-grandfather's collection, collected somewhere along the coast of South America in the 1940's.  There is a dried (animal?) inside.  All photos where taken in natural light.  

 

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Emily G.
Added possible conch reference

[JamieLynn]

well, I can't help you with Genus and species, but I can for sure tell you it's not a Crustacean. It is instead, a gastropod, or snail.  It looks to be a modern one due to the pink coloration on the inside. Look up Conch shells to give you a general idea of what this critter looked like.

[Mark Kmiecik]

Judging by the amount of wear on the outer surface of the shell this has rolled around in the surf and sand for a long time. Not likely that any part of the original resident is still present. Something else may have taken to living in the space that had been left behind and perished when the shell was collected. It's not a fossil, but none-the-less worthy of collection.

 

And once more, welcome to the forum. We'll all gladly help with anything we can. That's why we're here. Keep the questions coming.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Mark Kmiecik
fix typo

[Emily G.]

39 minutes ago, JamieLynn said:

well, I can't help you with Genus and species, but I can for sure tell you it's not a Crustacean. It is instead, a gastropod, or snail.  It looks to be a modern one due to the pink coloration on the inside. Look up Conch shells to give you a general idea of what this critter looked like.

Thank you!  I'm searching these now!  If you know of a trusted reference site for shells, please let me know.