|
|
|
 |
 |
| |
| |
YM Oceanic Culture & Art Museum
has gathered a wide collection of exotic shells
and pearls to be displayed during the theme show.
The show will include illustrations of pearl formation,
pearl types, their usages and a variety of unique
pearl accessories. The shell display section will
exhibit more than 300 types of different exotic
shells such as the rare living fossil - Rumphius'
Slit Shell. Furthermore, a detailed investigation
of various roles played by shells in many aspects
of our daily lives, including food, clothing, transportation,
education and entertainment. That means you will
be seeing edible shellfish, ornaments made from
shells, and the model San Ho Yuan made from shells
and coral by Mr. Huang Chi-Chun, an amateur artist
from Chunghwa. But that's not all! You will get
to see shell coins, shell stamps, the "Shankha"
(divine conch held by Vishnu in Indian mythology),
the hundred-word dictionary of Chinese characters
with the "Bei" (shell) radical, and other
comprehensive collections of literature and images
of shellfish species so that you can learn all the
marvels of shellfish at once! |
|
| |
The San Ho Yuan made from shells |
 |
|
 |
Mr. Huang Chi-Chun, an amateur artist living in
Fuhsing Township in Chunghwa County, has dedicated
over thirty years of his life to the construction
of the first and only temple in Taiwan made from
shells. Mr. Huang achieved this amazing feat by
himself and paid from his own pocket for the entire
project, and it is a statement of his persistence
and faith in his personal ideals. The immortal tower
of the shell temple was so painstakingly detailed
and unique that the shell temple has attracted visitors
and tourists from afar to take photographs of it
as mementos. |
| |
The amazing thing about Mr. Huang's shell temple
is that it is made purely from coral
and shells only. Furthermore, the design of the
shell temple is a reflection of Mr. Huang's in depth
understanding of architectural features of temples
in Taiwan and his unique creativity that goes against
the basic principles of construction. This is why
the shell
temple is not only magnificent as a temple, it also
has a unique aesthetic touch that makes it different
from ordinary temples.Over the years of undivided
devotion, Mr. Huang has managed to construct two
models of the shell temple and a model of a San
Ho Yuan from coral and shells. One can see the superb
craftsmanship and the incredible amount
of effort poured into each one of these. You are
bound to be surprised by the amount of detail in
these models and we are proud to feature Mr. Huang's
San Ho Yuan model in
this show. Apparently, he created the masterpiece
in order to make up for not being able to live in
a house made from shells. |
|
|
Tridacna Gigas-The Giants of Bivalve |
 |
| |
The bivalve shell of tridacnidae has an easily distinguishable
feature: its thick, gigantic shells. In addition,
they are usually found around regions with coral
reefs.
The vivid colors on the shell of the living tridacna
gigas usually came from the symbiotic algae. But
apart from the colors, the photosynthesis of these
symbiotic algae is also an important source of
nutrients for them. This is why tridacna gigas
are usually |
|
 |
| |
found in shallow waters with sufficient amount of
sunlight penetrating the waters. Incidentally, such
a location also happens to be where one would find
coral reefs.
Tridacna gigas can grow to a considerable size;
a large one may be over a meter or even two meters
in size. This is considered an astonishing size
for mollusks. The growth of a tridacna gigas is
rather slow; the large ones are usually more than
a few hundred years old. Due to the shell's unusual
thickness, most portions that grew become a record
of the composition of the sea water at that time.
Those large shells might even have stored a traceable
record of sea water composition for decades and
even centuries, and such records proved to be useful
for scientists in analyzing the oceans and climate
changes in ancient times.
Presently, tridacna gigas are protected species
in many regions around the world and the harvesting
of tridacna gigas has been forbidden. The several
tridacna gigas displayed in this exhibition were
limestone fossils from ancient coral reefs in
Indonesia and date back more than ten thousand
years.
|
|
|
Rumphius' Slit Shell (Entemnotrochus rumphill) |
 |
|
|
The Rumphius' Slit Shell (Entemnotrochus rumphill)
is undoubtedly the most precious species among the
malacofauna. Its existence dates back five hundred
million years ago, earning it the nickname of "living
fossil". The Earth has been through countless
periods of mountain building and ice ages over the
course of hundreds of million years, and all other
mollusks that existed in the same period as the
Rumphius' Slit Shell have either gone into extinction
due to their inability to adapt to changes in the
natural environment, or have evolved into new forms.
|
| |
For the longest period of time, most scholars believed
that the Rumphius' Slit Shell must have been extinct,
and the discovery of its surviving offspring was
sensational news. In November 1968, a Taiwanese
fishing boat netted only the fourth Rumphius' Slit
Shell seen in the world. Unfortunately, it was sold
to the Toba Aquarium for a very high price. The
world was shocked by the news, and the collection
and study of shells became a new trend in Taiwan.
Even though our fishing boats have since recovered
over 300 Rumphius' Slit Shells later on, most of
them were sold overseas. There are now less than
40 Rumphius' Slit Shell in the country at the moment,
which is a pity because the Rumphius' Slit Shell
is extremely valuable for research purposes in academia. |
|
| |
The most striking feature of the Venus Comb Murex
would be its three elongated arrays of needle sharp
spines that look like fish bones. It has a poetic
name: from the comb on the dressing table of Venus,
the Roman Goddess of love.
In stark contrast to its beautiful name, the Venus
Comb Murex feeds on other shellfish in a gruesome
manner. It will drill a small opening in the shell
of its prey and excrete digestive acid to be injected
into its prey to soften them as a means of primary
digestion. It will then consume the parts that have
been softened.
|
|
|
| |
So if you find in the ocean any remains of complete
shells with a tiny hole, that would be the handiwork
of the Venus Comb Murex. |
|
|
This shell earned its name for its close resemblance
to the shape of the head of a parrot. The word nautilus
is derived from the Greek word nautilus, meaning
"sailor" or "three-masted ship".
The Nautilus is known for its spiral shaped chambers.
In a cross-section, one can see its pearl-like luster
and the colors in the interior of its shell. Scientists
have concluded that the existence of the Nautilus
dates back more than five hundred million years
ago and that they thrived roughly four hundred and
fifty million years ago. There were more than three
thousand species of nautilus, and four of them still
exist today (which is quite incredible). |
| |
The Nautilus is also thus known as a "living
fossil".
The body of a Nautilus has many living chambers
interconnected by a siphuncle; an air tube that
runs through all the living chambers. The siphuncle
has a hyponome that regulates the gas ration between
the living chambers to control the buoyancy of the
shell. America's first nuclear-powered submarine
was named "USS Nautilus", after this fascinating
creature. |
|
| |
For those who have seen a movie about pirates, chances
are, they remember the big colorful conch that pirates
used to produce that deep resounding tone. That
beautiful conch would be the shell of a Giant Triton.
Legend has it that the Giant Triton is the magical
conch left behind by Triton, a Greek god of the
sea (and son of Poseidon). The conch is said to
possess special powers and sailors would blow the
conch to ward off potential harm and danger prior
to setting sail.
The Giant Triton feeds mainly on starfishes in the
ocean, and is perhaps most well known for feeding
on the crown-of-thorns starfish. |
|
|
| |
They have been considered a key element in the preservation
of coral reefs because they can effectively control
the number of crown-of-thorns starfishes, which
are notorious for the destruction they have caused
to coral reefs. |
|
 |
|
|
|
