Sea Snail Sea shell - S-502 MELO AMPHORA

Beautiful, very large XL Melo volute amphora, a popular name volute Diadem, is a very large sea snail, a mollusk of the sea snail in the family Volutidae, volutes. This large shell has a bulbous or almost oval outline. The columella has three easily recognizable diagonal folds. The aperture is wide and almost as long as the shell itself and there is no operculum. It has a very large, inflated and posteriorly widened body whorl. One of its most striking features is the arm with prominent and curved hollow spines. These spines become obsolete in later growth stages. The siphon is usually very short. It is said that the color of the Melo amphora shell is very variable. It is usually brown, white, or light orange. It typically exhibits spiral darker brown bands. The interior is glassy, most often in cream or pink-orange color. Dimensions - 120/155/260 mm. I highly recommend it to collectors and interior decorators.