Home About Robert Masino Shell Galleries Adventure Tours Contact

Welcome to Naked Conchology

My longtime quest for the beautiful, elusive mollusk speaks eloquently for the fascination of seashells. Each time I discover a curious and beautiful shell new to my collection I marvel at the amazing ability of these soft-bodied creatures to create such imaginative architecture.

The evolutionary rhythm of life, developed over millions of years, expresses itself in these handsome animals. Yet the exquisite patterns and the intricate houses they build are merely natural responses to nature's need to protect and further develop her many creatures.

I have learned to love and respect the ocean through years of association with the underwater world, and from my study of the habits and secrets of these strange molluscan creatures.

I hope this endeavor of mine to record my experiences in Caribbean conchology will inspire others to study and observe the elusive mollusk. The more we understand them, the more we will be able to protect them for the generations of naturalists to follow.

Featuring the photography of Robert Masino

I have selected thousands of specimens to illustrate and comment upon so that the viewer may share my enthusiasm and joys in discovering the shells of these beautiful tropical islands. Over the last 30 years, I have observed or collected these shells, some rare, others less so, but all exquisite and inspiring... I hope you agree.

Updates to photo galleries of this site will continue on a regular basis, so visit often! If you have any questions or comments about the site, Please

Adventures Tours

adventure tour

Diving trips for shell lovers and photographers!

With more than three decades of collecting and over 2,600 night dives in the Caribbean, you’ll learn first hand some of the most closely guarded collecting “tricks of the trade,” these trips will get you dramatically more shells every time!

You’ll learn the techniques and tricks the pros use. If you’re tired of finding shells that look “okay,” and if you’re tired of looking at shells in shell shops and at shell shows and thinking, “Why don’t my shells look like that?” then these trips are for you.

For Email Marketing you can trust

Adventure Tours

What is Conchology?

The colorful seashells you see photographed on this website did not just happen by themselves, nor were they made on earth's surface or formed on the ocean floor like inanimate stones, rocks or gems. All seashells are the homes of soft-bodied creatures which live, grow, reproduce and seek out food in the sea. The remarkable etchings of the Conus cedonulli, the impressive number of variations within the Voluta musica complex, the flattering design of Calliostoma javanicum and the handsome Fasciolaria tulipa are all members of this clan of over 80,000 species of mollusks. Strangest of the mollusks, but not properly called seashells, are the squid and the octopus. They do not have an outer shell.

conchology Best known of the seashells are the two main classes: univalves and bivalves. Univalves have one shell which is usually coiled. Whelks, conchs, snails and periwinkles belong to this class. Some, like the whelks, have a horny operculum which is used to close the entrance of the shell, much like a trapdoor. A few snails, like the sea hares, have a small internal shell, and many garden slugs and sea nudibranchs lack a shell altogether. Bivalves, including the oysters, scallops and clams, have two shelly valves held together by a hinge on one side and adductor muscles inside.

Two uncommon classes include the tusk shells which resemble miniature elephant tusks. The 2-inch long shells are open at both ends. They live in the sandy bottoms of oceans. The other class contains the chitons which have eight shelly plates and cling to shore rocks.