Sorting Seashells

Taxonomy groups species by common traits. Modern taxonomy emphasizes evolutionary relatedness. Let's explore some principles of taxonomy by sorting twenty shells by their morphological characteristics.

Whenever a pictorial index of shells appears (shown below), you can click on an image of a shell to open it in a separate window. There you can click and drag your mouse over the shell to rotate it for a more detailed examination. Additionally, you can use the small buttons in the lower right corner of the window to rotate the shell.