Of miniature leviathans and not-so-fast turbos

They're seashells of course! And they're mine :) Yes, I do collect seashells as a hobby - one I naturally picked up when I set foot on Sipadan and Mabul Islands off the coast of Sabah in 2007. Located north of Borneo and sharing a maritime border with the archipelago known as the Philippines, Sabah is bursting at the seams with exotic life in and out of the sea. With Sipadan being one of the most beautiful islands in the world, it is truly nature at its best. And oh those wonderful seashells - I've never seen such lovely colours and patterns on gastropods anywhere else before, and I had to have them!

Mind you, I'm not trying to have every single species, just the prettier ones. Cowries are my favourite by default - shiny, non-fragile, and perfectly pocketable! I even have the prized Golden Cowrie, worn by Fijian village chiefs in the olden days as a symbol of rank or privilege. As I mentioned earlier, I also own a small Leviathan Cowrie with its creamy pink dorsum streaked across by darker bands of brown hiding its striking violet teeth underneath, which I happened to find at the bottom of a heap of seashells in a shop in Semporna, Sabah. Alas, somehow I refuse to buy a Tiger Cowrie - too common perhaps?

11 species of cowries and counting :)

Other highlights of my collection include a fully striped shell of the prehistoric Chambered Nautilus, the pale coloured spindle shell Fusinus (Fusinus) undatus, a couple of cute carrier shells Stellaria solaris and Xenophora pallidula, and those fist-sized turbo (marine snail) shells I bought in Kota Kinabalu, Calvi, and Bali.

Previously wrapped in old newspapers and tucked away in boxes, they are now rightfully stored in elegant glass jars, ready for public viewing :)

My glass jars brimming with seashells. Do you like them?