aussiefossils 0 Report post Posted June 6, 2014 I found this along finch bay in cooktown, Queensland, after cyclone. Are these common shells? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Al Dente 3,427 Report post Posted June 6, 2014 The loosely coiled tube shape shell is the internal shell of a squid-like creature called Spirula. A common name for these is "ram's horn" https://www.google.com/search?q=spirula&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=CZqRU6HpJfOisQTH5oGoCA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1079&bih=827 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolf1 7 Report post Posted June 7, 2014 (edited) Hi aussiefossiles, I think all these shells are from recently living molluscs. In the following text, I refer to the third picture (orientated horizontally/transversal). At the left is a specimen difficult to determine, it´s "very beach" and nearly smashed. Unfortunately, the opening (aperture) is broken off. My only (rather weak) guess is family Turridae; perhaps you can look for species of this family around Cooktown. In the middle, it´s obviously a juvenile specimen. I think it belongs to the family Strombidae, perhaps Strombus campbelli Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834. It´s rather young and hasn´t yet broadened the opening and hasn´t yet thickened the outer lip. The specimen at the right side is difficult, again. Unfortunately we don´t have a frontal view, so we can´t see the opening ("mouth" = aperture). Might be it belongs to the family Ranellidae (= Cymatiidae). There are some species of the genus Cymatium in your area which look rather similar. I can´t help more, sorry..... . But perhaps it´s just a starting point and someone else can help further. Kind regards: wolf Edited June 7, 2014 by wolf1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
