What is a baler shell?
There are two species of baler shell, the northern baler (Melo amphora) and the southern baler (Melo miltonis). The shells of this large marine mollusc were highly valued by Aboriginal people, who used them to store water. The name came about because early Europeans recorded Aboriginal people bailing out their canoes with these huge shells. What do they look like? The shells of balers have attractive patterns. However, even more striking is the brown slug-like foot, which has intricate patterns of white lines that resemble an Aboriginal painting. The southern baler can reach a total length of 45 centimetres or more. Where do they live? Balers live in all of Western Australia’s marine parks and reserves, from very shallow areas to depths of 40 metres. The southern baler is distributed from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands to South Australia. The northern baler is found from the Houtman Abrolhos north around WA coast and across the Northern Territory coast to Queensland. What they eat and ho
