I'm getting a ***distinct*** almost-invisible feeling around here recently!!!

Mollusc shells are famous for their colors and the patterns they form - but i am
wondering just how much research has been done regarding molluscan pigments?  I
know a fair amount has been learned about melanism, but this isn't quite what i
had in mind - just the ordinary, wonderful array of molluscan shell pigments.
Do different families, for example, use radically different types of pigment?
Are some bivalve pigments very similar or nearly identical to some gastropod
pigments?  What about those unstable pigments which fade quickly after the
animal is dead?

It would be great to hear and discuss these things, since i, like many, find the
colors of our friends the shells, to be of MAJOR interest, but i know
surprisingly little about them (and am too busy/lazy to go to the library and do
a research job on the topic!!!)

From the Wet side of the Great White North,
Ross.