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:

May 3, 2019A night of art and culture
Jun 20, 2025Summer solstice
Sep 4, 2024Dusky eagle-owls, Pakistan
Mar 23, 2018Happy World Meteorological Day
Jan 4, 2026Kings Mountain, Chugach Mountains, Alaska
May 6, 2019Love blossoms
Dec 24, 2020Hey, don t you guys have somewhere to be?
May 22, 2020The scene of a literary crime
May 7, 2022Astronomy Day
Oct 15, 2024Great wildebeest migration at Mara River, Kenya
Dec 9, 2023National Llama Day
Aug 28, 2018Class, please take out a No. 2 pencil…
Oct 15, 2023European hedgehog
Mar 3, 2018Celebrating World Wildlife Day
Apr 10, 2020Brotherly cubs
Jan 30, 2026St. Michaels Mount in Marazion, Cornwall, England
Mar 6, 2022Great cormorants
Jul 21, 2020Belgium celebrates its independence
Nov 4, 2023National Bison Day
Nov 7, 2024Vancouver Coastal Sea wolves, Great Bear Rainforest, Canada
Jul 26, 2021The dancing trees of Sumba Island
Jan 3, 2026J.R.R. Tolkien Day
Sep 14, 2018Back to the nest
Feb 24, 2024Almond trees in full bloom, California
Aug 28, 2020A prison fit for a count
Aug 8, 2019Spot on for International Cat Day
Dec 15, 2018A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
Jan 23, 2020Across the great plains of Africa
Dec 22, 2022Galeries Lafayette, Paris
May 4, 2025Star Wars Day