Rainbow abalone shell, New Zealand
Rainbow abalone shell, New Zealand (© Lynda Harper/Minden Pictures)
A shell of many colours
We could perhaps fool you and claim you're viewing a long-lost Jackson Pollock canvas, but it was Mother Nature who painted this blackfoot paua (aka rainbow abalone) shell. And it’s not a modern art - fossils from similar marine gastropods date back at least 65 million years.
© Lynda Harper/Minden Pictures