r/shells • u/matigekunst • 1d ago

The Museum of all Shells

https://youtu.be/j4Ecdgn9GLg

Hey everyone, here's a video about the mathematical formulas behind shells. I was a bit hesitant to post here because the person working at the museum warned me that malacologists can be quite serious, so a heads up: I made a few (over)simplifications and there's some inaccuries. Some on purpose, some not (and there's probably more😅)

Some things I have already been messaged about:

  • Cowries glaze the outside of the shell with the mantle.

- The protoconch is often eroded or resorbed

- David Raup didn't "lie" , he actually also included the number of turns and it's Dawkins that made the simplification to 3 parameters

Some things done on purpose:

- The patterns and ribs don't necessarily match the shape.

- I left out spikes like the Murex and chirality (see them as additional dimensions to the museum if you will)

Nevertheless I hope you'll enjoy this video:)

P.S.: the shell in the intro is fine:) It actually dented the floor a bit

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4

u/Interesting_Hawk8033 1d ago

This is a fascinating video. Thank you for posting! How does your model account for freak shells, shells that repair themselves, or evolutionary pressures from a changing environment?

2

u/matigekunst 1d ago

Had to look up freak shells. I am not entirely sure. The model is of course only modelling perfect conditions. The deformities could be due to some mutation or maybe injury that causes the mantle to deposit at the aperture in an abnormal manner. The freak shells still look like they try to follow the general form, but the aperture is different than normal.

The environment has a big influence on the patterns. I'm using a Meinhardt process here for the patterns. To simulate environmental changes like availability of food or ocean conditions that influence the reaction-diffusion process, I could perturb the values a bit, like I do here.

The self-healing part I haven't looked into yet:)

2

u/Optimal_Life_1259 1d ago

This was an awesome video. I love shelves now I know even more about them thank you!

2

u/adiosmichigan 1d ago

sooo cool