Left-handed Whelk 7-8" organ Sea Fan (18”) on a

Sea Fan (18”) on a Mushroom Coral Base (6”)

The skeleton is a bright red color

Unless people cut carbon dioxide emissions

the ivory bush coral builds a skeleton of calcium carbonate – a compound that will become increasingly more rare as the ocean acidifies (a phenomenon caused by the ocean’s absorption of acidic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere)

and instead feed by passively capturing prey items such as larvae or small crustaceans

Left-handed Whelk 7-8" organ Sea Fan (18”) on aThe Lightning Whelk, Sinistrofulgur sinistrum (Hollister, 1958), is one of the local molluscan celebrities, not only because of its large size, but also thanks to very special features that make this species truly remarkable. For instance, unlike most gastropods, which are right handed, the Lightning Whelk has a left handed shell (shell opening to the right with shell spire pointing up). Abnormally right handed Lightning Whelks are very uncommon, but