Acid-soluble pigments of shells. 1. The distribution of porphyrin fluorescence in molluscan shells

Abstract

Red fluorescence is absent from land and fresh-water forms, and commonest in the Archaeogastropoda, appearing also in the Lamellariacea, certain Cypraeidae, the tectibranch opisthobranchs, Umbraculum, the pearl oysters, and sporadically elsewhere. The limits of distr. coincide closely with the existing anatomical nomenclature. Porphyrins in shells are commonly associated with a wide variety of other acid-soluble pigments.