I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but all the shells I found were occupied by hermit crabs, so the best I could do was get some photos.
While traveling the backwaters of the Indian River, we came up behind the islands known as Three Sisters. Since I love to walk along the sandy flats when the tide is out, my son dropped me off and he went out fishing.
I found so many interesting shells in this area that I went back out to the boat to get my camera.
Here’s what I found in this marvelous area of Florida which is mostly untouched by man.
A pretty little yellow Pear Whelk shell. It is similar in looks to the Lightning whelk(second photo), but the opening is on the right, not the left, as in the Lightning whelk.
Little Yellow Pear Whelk Shell – Home to a Hermit CrabLittle Lightning Whelk
This crown conch is not an unusual find, but I did like the nice size of it’s spikes. Often the spikes can be worn down from all the tumbling about in the ocean, but these spikes were long and sharp. Had to get a photo before the crab inside scampered away.
Crown Conch with Great Big Spikes
I wasn’t too sure what this little gray shell was, but I think it’s a faded pear whelk. It’s my best guess.
Little gray shell – a pear whelk I think
And here’s a real beauty… Yes, this is a seashell. It’s round, and mud covered, but it’s one of my favorite shells. Any guesses? Click to see a good photo of the Shark’s Eye shell.
Yes, it’s a seashell!
And my favorite find of the day was this awesome big True Tulip shell. My book says max 5 inches for this one, but this one is more like 6 inches. It has a broken opening with an oyster attached to the inside, and of course, a hermit crab has taken up residence.
Big True Tulip shell, next to my foot
All these shells and many many more were living in close proximity on this sandy bottom surrounded by oyster beds. Shells could be seen scurrying along just under the water at low tide, but the crab would stop and hide once I approached. They tuck themselves all the way up inside these shells, so it looks unoccupied, but I know better.
Broken and faded, my big whelk shell harbors a little secret.
One of the shells in my photo below contains a creature hiding within. He was so secretive that I never knew he was there for a full day after bringing these shells home. So here’s the story…
Big Whelks found along Indian River
My sons and I went boating in our little Gheenoe a couple days ago. It was not windy at our house, but once we got over to the River we saw whitecaps and knew we would be dealing with wind. Windy conditions and rough water are not a big deal unless you happen to be traveling in a canoe with a motor. With three of us in the little boat it won’t go fast, and because it sits so low in the water, we tend to get wet.
Because of this we didn’t travel far. The closest big island is where we stopped, and I got out to search for seashells. The boys used the trolling motor and went just offshore to do some fishing. We had the place to ourselves.
The shell hunt began. First I walked the inner side of the island which was extremely windy. I saw a lot of horseshoe crabs – alive and dead, and of course oysters. More than once I’ve been faked out when I think I’ve discovered a big shell in the shallows only to find it’s a nasty clump of oysters!
Oysters growing on tree roots along the island coastline
All the cute little shells along the shoreline were moving. Hermit crabs take up residence and steal all the good seashells for themselves. Each beautiful specimen I came across was inhabited, so I took photos and had to be happy with that. Those seashell finds I will share on my next post.
On the inland side of the island, where I was more sheltered from the wind, I found something that made my heart race. A big yellow seashell was up on shore and looked to be buried in the sand. A shell on the shore means the mollusk is not inside. Sea snails live in the water. The fact that it was not moving gave me the impression that a hermit crab was not inside. I was excited, but I should have known better. I took this photo before picking it up. Doesn’t it look like it could be a great find?
Unfortunately the underneath of that shell (which I believe is a knobbed whelk) was completely broken open, so what I saw in the sand is all there was to the shell. The mollusk had died and the broken shell did not give shelter for a crab. In other words it was useless to sea life. I took it home, along with the other broken shells I found.
But the big surprise came the day after our trip to the island, when a hermit crab appeared in the opening of one of the broken shells! Can you guess which shell, from my first photo above?
When I got home I soaked all the shells in water with a small amount of bleach to clean them off. I left them on the cement deck outside all night and then cleaned them one at a time the next day. When they were dry, I set them on the table and that is when my son noticed a big hermit crab emerging from the one below!
Yup, a good size hermit crab is inside the top of this broken, faded and worn Channeled whelk shell. The inner top of this shell must be hollow and he had scrunched himself into that area. We could see a bit of his legs through that top broken piece.
We did the only thing we could do to help the crab survive. We drove over to the River and tossed the shell back into the sea water.
You can see pictures of the Channeled Whelk as it is before it becomes as destroyed as mine is on the “i love shelling” site, where Pam (the blog owner) is fortunate to live and travel to great shelling places. She writes from the fabulous Gulf Coast, Sanibel area, where gorgeous seashells are everywhere.
I have to work hard just to find these broken ones! But it’s fun, and who knows, one day I may find something spectacular out there.
Not too long ago I was going through my seashell collection and came across this little shell again. The one pictured on the right in this picture to the left.
I never knew what it was and then suddenly it hit me – a juvenile lightning whelk! I knew because I finally looked long enough to realize that the opening is on the left side – it’s a sinistral shell! Then I looked at the lines and little bumps forming at the top and when compared to a more mature lightning whelk it’s easy to see that this one is just a baby – called a juvenile lightning whelk. So I have a mom and baby – but I highly doubt they are really related!! It’s just kinda cute.
Photo below shows the two together. Sorry but I have to add my blog name because some unscrupulous people like to help themselves to my photos. So all my pictures are uploaded at a very low resolution and they are only good to use like this – for a blog. Please do not use photos that do not belong to you! Add Zemanta to your blog – it’s a great photo archive.
I still don’t know what the other shell is in the photo above. Anyone? I think it’s a rock snail.
