PXL 20241013 025218133RAW 01COVER2My sister now lives in Southport, North Carolina. Since I house- and cat-sit (while doing a writing retreat), I use my breakaway time to beachcomb. Before coming, I searched for a great resource with a list of things to look for at the local beaches, with photos. Since there wasn't one, this will work for myself and others. This shell is a snail. They come in so many colors and sizes, including the fossil ones, which are fully white.

  • All of these seashells have been found at Holden Beach, North Carolina. 
  • All of these have been found at Oak Island, North Carolina, as well, except *

See ๐Ÿš also: Mystery Files

Seashells Hunting Tools

Angel wing shell - these are often found broken, so I went ahead and included these until I find a pair of whole ones.

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Ark Shell - Blood ark, Ponderous ark, and Black & white ark are Just a few of the types. In North Carolina and Virginia, you may find fossilized ark shells (such as the top right slate-colored shell in each of these pictures). Note the square-ish / trapezoidal shape, as shown in the right photo. See also: Mossy Ark.

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Atlantic slipper shell

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Auger shell

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Baby's ear shell

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Banded tulip shell

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Buttercup - Lucine

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See the top shell on the top left corner here โคต๏ธ

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Clam shell, Kitten's Paw (saltwater clam)

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Clam shell, Atlantic surf

1000066967Clam shell, Calico

Clam shell, Coquina (lots of colors)

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Clamshell, cross-barred venus

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Clam shell, Imperial Venus (aka Pawley's Island)

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Clamshell, Northern quahog (hard)

Clamshell, Razor (also known as Atlantic Jackknife) - see snail, seaworm for photo; these long horizontal shells are on the top middle of the photo.

Clam shell, Soft-shelled

Clam shell, Spiny jewel box

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Clam shell, Sunray Venus

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Clam shell, Turkey wing

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Coral - Miocene fossil Septistrea, possibly

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Coral, Branching (fossil) - This example is 1 inch long

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Corrugate jewelbox

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Crab shell, Mole

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Crab shell, Speckled swimming 

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Crossed-hatched lucine shell

Donax shell - the bottom shell

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Dosinia shell, disk - left center, white shell with a point, located between a flat scallop, a sea worm, and a calico scallop

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Dosinia shell, elegant (looks like fossil bittersweet)

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Dove snail shell (sometimes known as a bumblebee snail)

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Finger sponge

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Florida worm snail shell (has a top that looks like a different shell) - see Sea worm snail shell.

Florida fighting conch

 

Giant Atlantic cockle - these are smaller in North Carolina (this one is just under 2 inches), but I've seen them up to 6 in wide in North Florida off the panhandle.

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Horse conch shell - See the Wendletrap photo; the Horse conch is the orange diamond shaped shell below the white Wendletrap.

Hydroidea dianthus (tube worms)

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Jingle shell

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Keyhole limpet

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Lion's paw shell

Moon snail ๐ŸŒ shell. I called this one a "cinnamon roll." There are northern moon snails, shark's eye, or colorful moon snails; I haven't personally found all of these in these areas. And there are calcified white moon snail fossils.

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Moon shell collar - This is what a moonshell uses to house its eggs. 

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Mossy Ark - See also Ark shell.

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Murex shell - see the sand dollar photo; it's right above the moon snail.

Olive fossil shell (white) *

Olive shell, Lettered - See the sand dollar picture; it's on the top right.

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Oyster shell, Eastern - And if you look hard, you will see a pearl on the purple portion of the shell

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Oyster shell

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Oyster shell, Tree (fossil)

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Pen shell, American Stiff - beautiful iridescent gray

Pen shell, Sawtooth

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Periwinkle snail shell, Marsh - See Snail, Littoraria irrorata 

Periwinkle snail shell, Cloudy - See Snail, Cloudy periwinkle

Ponderous ark shell - See Ark Shell

Queen helmet shell - This is only the bottom edge

Sand dollar - on the bottom. Also, calico scallop, olive, Moon snail, calico scallop, Sea worm, murex

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Scallop shell, Bay

Scallop shell, Calico -see sand dollar photo. There are a couple, on the upper right and upper left.

Scallop shell, Flat

Sea biscuit - white, in the center of the seahorse photo

Sea biscuit fossil *

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Sea urchinSee the seahorse photo; the sea urchin is to the right of the starfish.

Seahorse - See tiny yellow arrow

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Seeds - Also known as sea beans, this category includes sea heart, hamburger bean, and any number of other hard-shelled seeds.

This one may be a Shellbark hickory.

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Shark tooth

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Snail shell, Cloudy periwinkle 

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Snail shell, Littoraria irrorata or Marsh periwinkle 

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Snail shell, Common nutmeg - a whole row of them and Scotch bonnets are blended

Snail shell, Scotch bonnet - a whole row of them and common nutmegs is underlined

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Snail shell sea worm (middle to upper left. See also that one of them still has the spiral portion attached.)

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Starfish, Common (brown) - The starfish on the right

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Starfish, Purple - See above, the starfish on the left. The inside section that looks orange now was very purple for many years and it gradually lost its color.

Sunray Venus shell - See "Clam, Sunray Venus"

Thick-lipped drill shell - left, Auger; middle, Top shell; right, Thick-lipped drill shell.

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Top-shell (Trochidae) - looks like a child's spinning top

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Tulip (snail) shell - see Banded tulip

Turkey wing

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Tusk shell - a dozen of them or in the bottom center of this photo

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Wendletrap shell

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Whelk egg case

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Whelk shell, Channeled (right open spiral)

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Whelk shell, Knobbed (right open spiral)

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Whelk shell, Lightning (left open spiral)

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#traveltivity #vintagativity #shells #fossils #seashells #collecting #bivalves #mollusks #

๐Ÿš๐ŸŒ๐Ÿชธ

Photos ยฉ๏ธ 2024 Karen Smith-Will