Gastropod shell
Videos
The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but als
The shell of Epitonium scalare.
Shells of two different species of sea snail: on the left is the normally sinistral (left-handed) shell of Neptunea angulata, on the right is the normally dextral (right-handed) shell of Neptunea despecta
Four views of a shell of Arianta arbustorum: Apertural view (top left), lateral view (top right), apical view (bottom left), and umbilical view (bottom right)
The shell of a large land snail (probably Helix pomatia) with parts broken off to show the interior structure. 1 – umbilicus 2 – columellar plait 3 – aperture 4 – columella 5 – suture 6 – body whorl 7 – apex
Columella (gastropod)
Videos
The columella or pillar is a central anatomical feature of a coiled snail shell, a gastropod shell. The columella is often only clearly visible as a structure when the shell is broken, sliced in half
An X-ray image of a shell of a marine Triton snail (Charonia), showing the slightly sinuous line of the central columella, reaching from the top of the image (the apex of the shell) to the bottom (the siphonal canal)
Two views of a shell of Scaphella lamberti, and in the center, a cut-down shell showing the folds on the columella
Cross section showing the columella of Amastra hutchinsonii (Pease, 1862)