Collision patterns on mollusc shells

Abstract

On mollusc shells one can find famous patterns. Some of them show a great resemblance to the soliton patterns in one-dimensional systems. Other look like Sierpinsky triangles or exhibit very irregular patterns. Meinhardt has shown that those patterns can be well described by reaction–diffusion systems [1]. However, such a description neglects the discrete character of the cell system at the growth front of the mollusc shell.

Keywords

• Cellular automata
• Chemical waves
• Solitons
• Sea shell patterns.