My 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 ๐ also: Mystery Files
Angel wing shell - these are often found broken, so I went ahead and included these until I find a pair of whole ones.
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.
Atlantic slipper shell
Auger shell
Baby's ear shell
Banded tulip shell
Buttercup - Lucine
See the top shell on the top left corner here โคต๏ธ
Clam shell, Kitten's Paw (saltwater clam)
Clam shell, Atlantic surf
Clam shell, Calico
Clam shell, Coquina (lots of colors)
Clamshell, cross-barred venus
Clam shell, Imperial Venus (aka Pawley's Island)
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
Clam shell, Sunray Venus
Clam shell, Turkey wing
Coral - Miocene fossil Septistrea, possibly
Coral, Branching (fossil) - This example is 1 inch long
Corrugate jewelbox
Crab shell, Mole
Crab shell, Speckled swimming
Crossed-hatched lucine shell
Donax shell - the bottom shell
Dosinia shell, disk - left center, white shell with a point, located between a flat scallop, a sea worm, and a calico scallop
Dosinia shell, elegant (looks like fossil bittersweet)
Dove snail shell (sometimes known as a bumblebee snail)
Finger sponge
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.
Horse conch shell - See the Wendletrap photo; the Horse conch is the orange diamond shaped shell below the white Wendletrap.
Hydroidea dianthus (tube worms)
Jingle shell
Keyhole limpet
Lion's paw shell
Moon snail ๐ 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.
Moon shell collar - This is what a moonshell uses to house its eggs.
Mossy Ark - See also Ark shell.
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.
Oyster shell, Eastern - And if you look hard, you will see a pearl on the purple portion of the shell
Oyster shell
Oyster shell, Tree (fossil)
Pen shell, American Stiff - beautiful iridescent gray
Pen shell, Sawtooth
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
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 *
Sea urchin - See the seahorse photo; the sea urchin is to the right of the starfish.
Seahorse - See tiny yellow arrow
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.
Shark tooth
Snail shell, Cloudy periwinkle
Snail shell, Littoraria irrorata or Marsh periwinkle
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
Snail shell sea worm (middle to upper left. See also that one of them still has the spiral portion attached.)
Starfish, Common (brown) - The starfish on the right
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.
Top-shell (Trochidae) - looks like a child's spinning top
Tulip (snail) shell - see Banded tulip
Turkey wing
Tusk shell - a dozen of them or in the bottom center of this photo
Wendletrap shell
Whelk egg case
Whelk shell, Channeled (right open spiral)
Whelk shell, Knobbed (right open spiral)
Whelk shell, Lightning (left open spiral)
#traveltivity #vintagativity #shells #fossils #seashells #collecting #bivalves #mollusks #
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Photos ยฉ๏ธ 2024 Karen Smith-Will