Here are my photos of the shells I’ve come across while traveling the beaches and rivers of Florida’s East Coast. My beachcombing is mostly done in the backwaters of the Indian River in Florida, Mosquito Lagoon area, which is saltwater. I also visit the ocean beach and often find interesting shells and broken things at Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach.

This page of my photography is of the most common seashells I see – some more common than others. Most shells I find are inhabited, by either the snail, or a hermit crab. In that case, I get photos and leave the shell where I found it.

Partial seashell pieces of the knobbed whelk

Knobbed Whelks

(Busycon carica) are wide and thick with spaced points at the top of the whorl. Usually I only find pieces of this shell. Then, one day I came across this tan beauty! A big hermit crab had taken up residence so after the photo shoot, it went back into the water where I found it.

opening of knobbed whelk — Knobbed Whelk

huge horse conch seashell — The largest I’ve found is 17 inches long.

juvenile horse conch seashell — Baby horse conch

Florida Horse Conch

(Triplofusus giganteus) is the largest snail in North America and is Florida’s state shell. The living snail is bright orange.

The spire differs between bumpy and smooth but it is always elongated.

Crusty horse conch living on flats — Horse conch in mud

The mature horse conch can be two feet long! Most often I find small specimens of this shell, which always contain hermit crabs. The larger, living whelk’s habitat is in shallow water with a sandy bottom in calm areas of the saltwater river.

large horse conch shell — A friend of my sons found this huge, empty horse conch buried deep in the mud.

two seashells — Crown conch and lightning whelk

Lightning Whelk

(Busycon sinistrum) is known for it’s left side opening. The whorl spirals left, not right as most shells.

The Lightning Whelk usually has beautiful brown coloring in streaks, hence it’s name.

This shell can be quite long, but the ones I see are about this size.

Beautiful shark's eye seashell — Shark’s Eye

Shark’s Eye

(Neverita duplicata)

A pretty round, brownish shell with a center, blueish “eye”. Can be up to around 3 inches.

mud covered round sharks eye seashell — Mud encased

sharks eye with hermit crab — Hermit crab inside

The Shark’s eye lays eggs mixed with sand to create a rubbery round disk. When I first found one of these, I thought it was someone’s trash! The shape ensures that they stay upright in one place until the baby Shark Eyes hatch.

Pear Whelk

(Busycotypus spiratus)

Similar in appearance to the Lightning Whelk, but with the opening on the right.

Channeled Whelk

(Busycotypus canaliculatus)The channeled whelk has little bumps around the spire. I rarely find them.

Crown Conchs

(Melongena corona)

Larger shells are easily identifiable by the pointy ridges along the top and a row around the bottom. The crown conch can have beautiful stripes and coloring.

large crown conch — Very large 6 inch shell – about the max for this shell

florida fighting conch and mollusk — Alive

broken fighting conch — Broken shell home to a hermit crab

living fighting conch mollusk — The snail

Florida Fighting Conchs

(Strombus alatus)

A thick, chunky shell with shorter, knobby spire. Think, short and wide. I don’t see these shells very often.

Pretty banded tulip shell — Banded Tulip

Pretty banded tulip seashell — Another view – aperture

living tulip shell — True Tulip, alive with snail, 7 inches?

Tulip Shells

Banded tulips (Fasciolaria ilium) have horizontal lines, such as the photos on the left. True tulips (Fasciolaria tulip) have an overall blotchiness. The tulips are Spindle shells which include the Horse Conch. They have long tops, or spires.

big true tulip seashell — True Tulip – 5.5 inches

hermit crab in the wild — Hermit crab in a tulip shell

Dosinia

(Dosinia discus)

The Dosinia is a type of clam which is quite flat compared to other clams. I’ve found them in many sizes and they will grow to be around 3 inches. I have found this shell on ocean beaches as well as island sand.

Arks and Cockles

Bivalves which are commonly found on the ocean beaches. They can come in many colors, and have noticeable ribs.

bowl full of ark shells — Ark shells can be colorful

transverse ark shells — Transverse Arks (Anadara transversa)

Large round platter full of seashells from my collection — Part of my shell collection

This is not a comprehensive list, and most shells I photograph were found far from an ocean beach, but in the calmer river waters and little island beaches scattered throughout the marshy backwaters. I never collect any shells that have a living creature inside. It’s easy to see the living mollusk, but hermit crabs can easy tuck themselves way inside and make a shell seem to be empty. After bringing a couple of hermit crabs back home accidentally (and having to drive back to the water to return the shell) I now do not collect any gastropods, or one piece shell unless they are too small for hermits to inhabit (olive shells), or too large (big horse conchs).