Conchology is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includes the study of land and freshwater mollusc shells as well as seashells and extends to the study of a gastropod's operculum.
Calliostoma tigris
Shell of Lobatus gigas, the queen conch
A vendor in Tanzania with a variety of large seashells for sale
Sea shells from Recreatione dell'occhio e della mente by Filippo Bonanni
The mollusc shell is typically a calcareous exoskeleton which encloses, supports and protects the soft parts of an animal in the phylum Mollusca, which includes snails, clams, tusk shells, and several other classes. Not all shelled molluscs live in the sea; many live on the land and in freshwater.
Diversity and variability of shells of molluscs on display.
Variety of Mollusc shells (gastropods: land snail shells and seashells).
Closed and open shells of a marine bivalve, Petricola pholadiformis. A bivalve shell is composed of two hinged valves which are joined by a ligament.
Four views of a shell of the land snail Arianta arbustorum
