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Dr. de Baets,

Your well-publicized article received early attention here (LINK) as it related to a lengthy and rather obsessive study of mine concerning the mystique-shrouded myths and legends...

Just to clarify, my understanding is that Pectinidae inner shell microstructure is foliated calcite (vs. foliated aragonite, thus far only confirmed in Monoplacophora). Also, did I read something...

Lolo,

Very nice photos, they look good enough to eat.

Among your collection of shells, if you have managed to keep any of those showing color tendencies in the blue/green/red ranges that would...

Dave,

Indisputable documentation for a non-nacreous pearl from a nacreous shell. Significant find indeed! Coloration would speak to the proteomics of the species.

But begs further comment on...

The two specimens here do indicate that a lobster-concretion 'typicity' exists, as they are so similar. Composition requires analysis, chitin most likely but calcification in the form of aragonite or...

Excellent photos, the loupe shots are especially accomplished.

There is certainly an exterior shell crack at the last septum as I described in my prior post, indicating Indonesian origin, as this...

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'Wavy Turban' pearls. Yes, these are new here. But as CliClasp has intimated, they are indistinguishable from many other non-nacreous gastropod pearls. Looking at this species' 'specs', 80mm diameter...

Thanks for the heads up, Caitlin.

That has a nice shape, vs. oblong as we have seen in the Nautilus thread in at least three examples. Those oblong shell thickenings represented reinforcement of...

An article on how to recognize synthetic ivory from our friends at EBay.

The point is 'understanding the process', inducing the human body to repair itself in ways that it currently does not. I would assume that anyone wanting to use nacre for crowns would have a control...

Added the hyperlink to Nature's press release in my prior post. Pretty straightforward.

The Nature press release states:



Such understanding has clear medical application, such as eventual treatments for osteoporosis, broken bones and lost/decayed teeth.

The appeal of nacre is...

Pearls poetic?? I think we would all agree with your spellchecker!

The colors are truly interesting. I'm going to get comment from the Cooks.

Loloperle,

Just to be clear, are you claiming that all of the pearls in your photos are P. Maculata? My prior post regarding sub-species for shell color was pure conjecture—as yet there is no...

Really interesting. Those pastel pinks don't exist in The Cooks. Assuming poe pipi, it is clear that there is sub-speciation within P. Maculata. Penryhn's extreme remoteness appears to have isolated...

Conchas' attribution was melo vs. melo melo. Thus my reference to 'genus' vs. 'species.' C. Cornuta is a possibility but the Cassis range of color wants to stay on the brickish side of orange.

Conchas' attribution was melo, not melo melo. Thus my reference to 'genus' vs. 'species.' Yes C. Cornuta is a possibility but the Cassis range of color wants to reside on the brickish side of orange.

Conchas' attribution was melo, not melo melo. Thus my reference to 'genus' vs. 'species.' Yes C. Cornuta is a possibility but the Cassis range of color wants to reside on the brickish side of orange.

i'm just pleased as punch to see one that doesn't look like an orange ping pong ball (see old thread). Gives credibility to the category. Color is right for genus.

As with those bizarre Abalone...

Actually, mollusk fossils are precisely that—molds of the shell. The shell aragonite (or calcite, vaterite) degrades to calcium carbonate and is lost. Rare exceptions, ammolite being the prime...

Purest sensationalism, P. Margaritifera is much larger than that fossil and the world doesn't go nuts every time one is brought to the surface. I really don't get it.

The article even manages to...

Lots of 'pearl finding' going on around here lately, at least this time not while eating a mollusk. On the positive side, these marbles were not cooked.

Congratulations Jeremy and Hisano!

'PP' might just as aptly stand for 'People's Pearls.' Can you imagine the chagrin Nancy Reagan might have felt if she were discovered wearing a torsade that cost...

Been there.

Obviously, if a bead is detected that's the end of the story. But if no bead is detected, conclusions are impossible given the range of beadless culturing scenarios.