EN - Magazine (Online Magazine) - Flipbook - Page 23
THE
WORLD
OF
SEASHELLS
Text: Mélissa Leclézio • Photos: Virginie Tennant
SEASHELLS, NATURAL OBJECTS BUT ALSO CULTURAL ONES,
HAVE BEEN ASTONISHING, INTRIGUING AND INSPIRING COLLECTORS,
SCIENTISTS AND ARTISTS FOR CENTURIES.
It’s with these words that visitors are
greeted on entering the Shell Museum,
which was recently transferred to
its new site in the Place du Moulin,
Heritage Bel Ombre. Apart from their
intrinsic function, seashells have an
aesthetic appeal and have attracted
many myths, some of our own and
some from distant countries, as well
as fascination with their form and how
they function biologically. Housing
8,000 specimens from the collection of
the conchologist, Eric Le Court de Billot,
World of Seashells is a revelation and
more than worth a visit.
Deceptive appearance
Incredibly, there are more than
75,000 seashell species around the
world. The museum has classified the
specimens by family in accordance
with the indexing system of the World
Register of Marine Species 2018. But
what is a seashell? It is the spiral or
cone-shaped external skeleton of
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21
a mollusc. With a ribbed surface or
covered in spines, decked with pearly
or shimmering colours and a geometric
form that only nature could have
created, seashells come in an amazing
variety of shapes. However, above and
beyond their stunning beauty, they
provide an excellent form of defence
against predators.
A visit reveals some fascinating
anecdotes. For example, the divine
proportion of seashells has attracted
mathematicians and scholars since
Antiquity and the museum gives a
very clear explanation of the link
between shells and the golden ratio.
Gods such as Venus and Aphrodite in
Greco-Roman mythology or Yemoja
(the Yorubas’ goddess of the sea) and
Vishnu amongst Hindus are depicted
with a shell, a scallop or a conch. One
of the museum’s texts reads, “In all
cultures and civilisations, shells are
part of the way water is depicted as
a symbol of fertility, purification and
rebirth.”
Beauty in danger
As well as the marvellous displays,
the museum also informs visitors
about the risks arising from the
overexploitation of seashells. Marine
pollution also accelerates the loss of
species such as bivalves (two-valved
hinged-shell molluscs) which are filter
feeders, absorbing heavy metals and
organic pollutants. Moreover, ocean
acidification has a direct impact on the
lives of molluscs. If we wish to continue
to be able to appreciate the treasured
presence of seashells on our beaches
and in our oceans, now more than ever
we have to rethink our lifestyles and
how we interact with our environment.
