this is the shell of a lettered cone snail, which is a predatory sea snail that hunts and eats marine worms. if you are fascinated by its beauty, as i am, you are not alone. even 5000 years ago in mesopotamia, inhabitants of the first urban settlement, called uruk, made necklaces by stringing cone shells together. beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yes, but sometimes beauty is just right there in front of you.

lettered cone shell (conus litteratus)

uzès, france