Real seashell of Nassa Mud Snail - Nassarius hepapicus specimen encased in clearlucite material. The specimen is crystal clear, transparent and indestructible. Safe, authentic and completely unbreakable product put the seashell right at your fingertips

Anyone can safely explore the seashell from every angle.

It is clear enough for microscope observation.

Size of the shell is 2.0x1.2 cm (0.8x0.5 inch).

Size of the lucite block is 4.5x3.0x1.8 cm (1.8x1.2x0.7 inch).

Weight of the block is 20 g and 30 g with packing box.

This is a handmade real animal specimen craft. Each one will be a bit different (specimen size, color and posture) even in the same production batch.
The pictures in the listing are just for reference as we are selling multiple pieces with same pictures.
 

It is an ideal learning aid for students and kids and also a very good collectible item for every body. 

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Nassa Mud Snail - Nassarius hepapicus

Order: Neogastropoda  Family: Nassariidae  Genus: Nassarius

Nassarius, common name nassa mud snails (USA) or dog whelks (UK), is a genus of minute to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Nassariidae. They are scavengers.

The name is derived from the Latin word "nassa", meaning a wickerbasket with a narrow neck, for catching fish. Nassarius would then mean "someone who uses such a wickerbasket for catching fish".

Species within this genus are found worldwide. These snails usually live on mud flats or sand flats, intertidally or subtidally.

Most Nassarius species are very active scavengers, feeding on crabs and carrion as dead fish, etc. They often burrow into marine substrates and then wait with only their siphon protruding, until they smell nearby food.

The shells of species in this genus have a relatively high cyrtoconoid (approaching a conical shape but with convex sides) spire and a siphonal notch.

The shell is turreted, polished, smooth or longitudinally plicate. The inner lip shows the callus sharp, straight, defined. The outer lip is produced in the middle, variced externally.

The eyes are situated on the middle of the tentacles. The lingual teeth are arched and pectinated. The uncini show a basal tooth. The foot is large, expanded and bifurcate at its posterior extremity.

The operculum is ovate, the margin serrated or entire.

The shell is ovate and ventricose. The body whorl is variously sculptured. The aperture is ovate, with a short reflected truncated anterior canal. The inner lip is smooth, often widely spread over with enamel, with a posterior callosity or blunt dentiform plait. The outer lip is dentated, internally crenulated.

The animal has a long siphon.

Several beads made from Nassarius gibbosulus shells are thought to be the earliest known forms of personal adornment, or even jewelry. Two shell beads found in Skhul Cave on the slopes of Mount Carmel, Israel, are thought to be 100,000 years old, whilst another found at Oued Djebbana, Algeria, is believed to be 90,000 years old. A further group of pierced shells, some with red ochre, has been recovered from the Aterian levels at the Taforalt site in Morocco; these Nassarius gibbosulus beads have been securely dated to about 82,000 years ago.

All these examples predate several 75,000-year-old Nassarius kraussianus beads which were found at Blombos Cave, South Africa (including some colored with red ochre). These beads had previously been thought to be the oldest examples of jewelry.

From A.D. 1130 to 1275, shell beads were manufactured by the inhabitants of the Exhausted Cave near the Clear Creek Ruins. A Southern Sinagua site in Verde Valley, Arizona where "shell played a major role in the economic system of this culture."

Nassarius vibex is a species which is often selected for marine aquaria. It is often confused with Nassarius obsoletus, a cooler water snail less suited to tropical marine aquarium temperatures. In aquaria, the Nassarius is considered nearly indispensable for keeping sand beds clean and healthy, as these snails tend to burrow and plow through the upper layer in a conch-like fashion, keeping algae and detritus from building up visibly on the surface.

The shells of various species of Nassarius are popular with shell collectors, and are sometimes used in jewelry and other forms of decoration.