11006-65501 Rams horn squid shell (Spirula spirula) these empty 'shells' are really 'chambers'. They are sometimes washed ashore in great numbers on West Coast beaches. The live animal, a type of small nautilus squid is seldom seen. The shell is an internal skeleton of bouyancy chambers, enabling the tiny nautilus to travel up and down far below the ocean's surface, ranging from 100 fathoms to depths of more than 1000 fathoms. Mount Maunganui *
DSC_4976 Paper nautilus, or muheke (Argonauta nodosa) the large, pearly white shells of this pelagic species often wash ashore along the east coast of New Zealand - north of the subtropical convergence - each summer. Wellington
DSC_2950 Red brachiopod or Papa kura iti (Calloria inconspicua) attached to ribbed mussel shell at low tide. Otago Harbour
