Picture of the Week: 3-D Pteropod

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Pteropod (Cavolinia) Stereo Pair

This planktonic mollusc is commonly known as a pteropod, or flapping snail, a name derived from its characteristic 'wing foot'. It possesses a globose, bilaterally symmetrical calcareous shell that houses and protects the soft parts of the organism. The large mantle lobes extend beyond the shell margin and, by a flapping motion, enable movement. Feeding is performed passively whilst drifting in the plankton community by casting a large, mucous web in order to catch a variety of phytoplankton (diatoms and dinoflagellates) and zooplankton (copepods and crustacea larvae).

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This is a stereo pair and can be viewed in 3-D by crossing your eyes! You are aiming to have your left eye looking at the right hand image and your right eye looking at the left hand image. If you have difficulty seeing it in 3-D then follow these instructions.

Click here to float this help panel for easier reference!

1. Sit looking at your computer screen from a distance of about 60 cms (24 inches)

2. Hold a pencil, with the tip about half way between your face and your computer screen.

3. Focus on the computer screen - you should be aware of 'two' pencils.

4. Move the pencil so that the tip of one pencil is over the nose of the left hand turtle, and the tip of the other pencil is over the nose of the other.

5. Now concentrate on the tip of the pencil while being aware of the images behind. It helps to have the tip of the pencil towards the bottom of the image.

It can take a while to get it to begin with. It took me 10 minutes the first time I tried! Once you have got it the first time you will be able to get it easily the second time - without the use of the pencil!

To have a look at other stereo pairs click here

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