A shell of many colors Oct 10, 2021

A shell of many colors

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 modern art it ain"t: Fossils from similar marine gastropods date back at least 65 million years.

© Lynda Harper/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Oct 10, 2018Space is for everyone
Oct 10, 2019A star blows a bubble
Oct 10, 2020Birds of a feather
Oct 10, 2022Indigenous Peoples Day
Oct 10, 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado
Oct 10, 2024Kochia, Hitachi, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan
Oct 10, 2025Visiting the Mamanuca Islands for Fiji Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 24, 2019Cool water in the Quinault
May 12, 2019The parenting of a piping plover
May 3, 2022Teacher Appreciation Day
Sep 7, 2018An historic forest
Jan 3, 2023Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Feb 28, 2024Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, England
Oct 19, 2018Portland celebrates its bounty
Nov 24, 2023Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington
Aug 14, 2018Combating extinction with citizen science
Mar 8, 2021A notorious advocate for women
Apr 6, 2024Castle Day in Japan
Dec 6, 2022Everglades National Park turns 75
Aug 17, 2020A giant relic in Java
Dec 14, 2020I see one!
Sep 27, 2021Sharp-dressed bug
May 20, 2023World Bee Day
Oct 6, 2025Anshun Bridge, Chengdu, China
Jul 12, 2025Thomsons gazelles, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Mar 1, 2025Womens History Month
May 23, 2025World Turtle Day
Jun 15, 2022Nature Photography Day
Nov 29, 2024Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, France
Sep 17, 2020Citizenship Day and Constitution Day
Jul 19, 2022National Bison Month
Feb 10, 2023Ancient theater of Epidaurus, Greece
Apr 17, 2022Easter
Jul 24, 2023Cousins Day
Mar 16, 2024National Panda Day
Dec 4, 2021Cheetah mother and cub
Sep 24, 2020Till the cows come home