Tiger in a shell

After yesterday's rather grim city blip, time for something a bit more colourful; a tiger's eye in a snail shell. Zoomify for maximum enjoyment.

The "egg" in the shell is made from a quartz mineral containing oriented fibres of crocidolite that have been replaced by silica. The fibres refract light and produce vertical luminescent bands reminiscent of a cat's eye, hence the mineral's name, Tiger's Eye. The most important mine for Tiger Eye is in South Africa - maybe Lion's Eye would have been a better choice of name!

The shell is from an abalone, edible sea snails, otherwise known as ear-shells, sea ears, muttonfish, venus's-ears, paua, or, in Great Britain, ormers. The holes in the shell are vents out of which sea-water is forced after flowing over the gills during breathing.