Picture of the day

Haliotis clathrata, the lovely abalone, is a species of sea snail in the abalone family. It has a shell whose shape forms a logarithmic spiral. The species occurs in the western Pacific Ocean, on the coasts of Australia and the islands and mainland of Southeast Asia, as well as islands in the Indian Ocean such as Madagascar and Mauritius, and stretches of the East African coast. Clockwise from top left, this picture shows an empty H. clathrata shell in dorsal, lateral, ventral, front and back views. The shell is 3.2 centimetres (1.3 inches) in length, and was found in the Philippines.Photograph credit: H. Zell