While walking the Florida beaches during the many years I lived there, picking up pretty seashells was just part of life. It was something to keep the kids happy on vacation and we always went home with a bucket of their favorite shells.
Our collection grew – especially when we vacationed on Sanibel Island - which is one of the 3 top spots for shells collecting IN THE WORLD. And I kept them in a big glass bowl that I bought at the dollar store. I never had a clue as to what they were called. They were just “shells” to me.
I brought them with me when I moved back to the northeast and they sat in that glass bowl for years.
When I began photographing my shells for sale, I realized that it would be helpful if I could accurately identify them.
While searching around the internet, I have discovered the names of most of the seashells I have in my collection and I’m happy to share that info with you!
I have tried to include links to sites that better explain the shell, and I have learned a great deal from my research – (Do you know which shell is called a “mermaids toenail“?) and found some awesome sites with nice photos and good information.
Just Click on the link below to see photos and read about a particular shell.
The list will continue to grow as I add more of my photos, so please bookmark the page.
Florida Lightning Whelk - A ”left handed” seashell
Natica Lineata & Babylonia Spirata …Shells with stripes and spots
Pink Murex - A large shell
Strawberry Conch -Small cone
Lettered Olive & Golden Olive
Sand Dollars- More than one type
Jingle Shells- translucent
Elegant Dosinia -or Disk?
Pen Shell- Can be a foot long
Jujonia -A treasure
Spiny Jewel Box
Star Fish/Sea Stars
Gibbose (Brown) Olive Shell
Atlantic Auger
Atlantic Kitten’s Paw
Cowry Shells - Used as currency
This shell is a mystery to me. I found one that is similar in my reference book. It looks most like the Mauve Mouth Drill except that the description says it is “grayish pink, or purple within”, and mine is not – is has orange along the edge. I’m pretty sure it’s a Drill of some kind, I just can’t find a photo that looks exactly like this one.
The one pictured is 1 1/8 inches long.
Little Shell
Two little shells adorn the lower corner of this horizontal, 5×7 inch wedding invitation. The name of this type of shell is “babylonia spirata” and this one (they are both the same shell – just copied for the invitation) was found along the Florida gulf coast.
Two Little Shells, 5×7 Parents Invite Calligraphy by sandpiperWedding
I have stayed at the Watermark Condos before and it’s truly a gorgeous place. The condos are owned individually and rented out by the week, month or season -whatever the owner decides. Some owners are year round residents.
They are very large with 3 bedrooms and all of them over look the ocean. The long porch on the front is just awesome. Each resident has their own garage so the car is stored inside and not out in a parking lot.
This is a drive on beach and is open to traffic all day long and can get very crowded from about April to September or October. I have stayed there in July which is very crowded and super HOT…and also the end of November when we had the beach all to ourselves and did some fishing.
I contacted one owner who is renting hers and I thought I might be able to get down to Florida to visit my son and all my friends this summer some time. I would have to go in the summer because my son has school – otherwise I would not choose that time of year.
I doubt that it will happen because I just don’t have the money to take a trip, but here is the link to the condo. Be sure to check out all the pictures… very nice!
So if you are thinking about vacationing on the beach in Florida I would definitely recommend the Watermark. It is located off of Flagler Ave. in New Smyrna Beach.
These sea shells from the coast of Florida are not all the same.
The red and purple ones are Calico Scallops. My reference book tells me that the Calico can be spotted with red or purple. They are found on the East coast of the U.S. from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico.
The white one with brown stripes looks like it might be a Cross-Barred Venus shell.
I have been using this photo of the shells in a circle as my avatar at Narrow Road Designs and the photo was taken by me. I don’t live near the beach any longer so I had to substitute sugar for the beach sand. (The beaches in the Florida panhandle do have whitish sand).
Scallops and Venus?
Little Florida Crown Conch Shell
These are my Crown conch shells. At first I thought that the large one (in the framed print) was a very worn Florida Crown conch, also called a “King’s Crown“, but my reference book (National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Shells) has a good photo of a West Indian crown conch and mine looks a lot more like that one. According to that book, they live in “the larger Islands of the West Indies to southern Mexico and Surinam”.
The Florida Crown Conch has many spines coming off the whorls which look like a “crown”. See a photo here. In fact I believe I do have a Florida crown conch that is quite small, but it has the spikes creating the “crown”. I’ve added it as a thumnail picture at the top of this page.
I collected this shell (in the photo below) on the beach at Sanibel Island and it’s 2 1/2 inches long.
West Indian Crown conch (left)… Florida Crown conch or King’s Crown (among shells on the postcard – right)
To qualify for this free shipping offer, one or more Zazzle Custom Stamps, invitations, and or postcards must be purchased with a net sale price equal to or greater than 50.00 dollars. Enter promo code WEDDINGNEEDS at checkout to receive the free shipping. The free shipping offer is for standard (or economy if standard is not available) to U.S. addresses only. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid from January 18, 2010 at 12:01am PT through January 31, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. This promotional offer may not combine with any other Zazzle promotional or volume discount offers.
- Product Overview (Stamps, Invitations – in 4 sizes, come with envelopes, and Postcards qualify for this sale.)
- Sandpiper Wedding; Invitations
- Beachcombers; postage
- Blue Hydrangeas – Floral Invitations, etc.
Murex Sea Shells
A characteristic of the Murex shell is that it has spikes or spines shooting out all over it. Finding one is good shape is difficult because of the rolling in the surf and sand which breaks off the spikes.
Mine is was purchased many years ago and has broken spikes, but is still pretty. BUT, not all shells in the Murex family have these spikes. Some have a frilly look, such as the “Festive Murex” and “Frill-Wing Murex” from the US west coast.
The Giant Eastern Murex averages 5 to 7 inches high and the West Indian Murex is 3 to 6 inches high. (National Audubon Society’s Field Guide to Shells)
According to Pensacolas Greatest Seashells blog, finding a Murex is not always easy, and finding one in great condition is ever tougher. They show three types on their blog, the Apple Murex, Rose Murex, and Giant Eastern Murex.
The one I own, pictured here, is the Pink Murex and I don’t see it listed in my reference book (named above), but the book only covers the east and west coast of the USA. The link I have provided says theirs was found in Mexico -Peru and I have difficulty finding any other information.
This one is 5 1/2 inches long and 3 1/2 inches high.
Go to my home page to read more about identifying seashells.
Think you know a lot about seashells? Take a fun, 10 question quiz!
