Mathematics of Seashell Shapes
Seashells are showcasing of spirals. There are great variety of spiral shapes. Suppose we start with a circle winding around a spiral.
- The circle's shape changes periodically like a sine function, creating a corrugated shell somewhat emulate that of Paper Nautilus.
- If instead of a circle we have a polygon, we can simulate that of Top Shell or Cone shell.
- If the rounding shape periodically changes shape to have spikes, then we might emulate shells that have horns such as the Murex shell or Venus's Comb shell.
- The periodic change might also emulate those shell having ribs such as the Harper shell.
For a illustration showing the variety of seashell shapes, see: Seashell icons .

A simple seashell can be modeled using the following parametric formula:
{ 2*(1 - E^(u/(6 π)))*Cos[u]*Cos[v/2]^2, 2*(-1 + E^(u/(6 π)))*Cos[v/2]^2*Sin[u], 1 - E^(u/(3 π)) - Sin[v] + E^(u/(6 π))*Sin[v] }
Some seashells in Mathematica: seashell_parametric.nb.zip; seashell_wentletrap.nb.zip;
Gallery of Shapes
Tightness of Spiral



Outline Variations




Ribs And Spikes










Internal Structure







The above photos show a variety of spiral shapes of seashells. For larger photos and info on these shells, see: Seashell Gallery .
References and Sources
The Algorithmic Beauty of Sea Shells , by Hans Meinhardt, Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz, Deborah R Fowler. Buy at amazon
Mike Willams has sent me various formulas, see Math Parametric Equation for Seashell
If you have a question, put $5 at patreon and message me.