Shelling

Treasures from the sea! Sand Dollars. Radiant sunrise coquina. Soft translucent baby ears. Treasures that can be found washing to shore for the sharp-eyed shell seeker. But as every successful treasure hunter knows, sometimes one has to dig a little deep to find your treasure. And clues. Some spots yield clues just where those treasures might be found. This year families and winter guests alike found wonderful mementos to take back home to bring back warm memories of surf, sand and sea---and treasure!

Winter guest Linda found a Giant Eastern Murex, Moon Shell and a Branded Olive. While the Giant Eastern is a very rare shell to find along the sands of Silver Beach and Emerald Key, the smaller Lace Murex is more common. Murex shells make spectacular finds with their frills and pointy spines. Seashells belong to the kingdom Mollusca. Most Mollusca are soft, fleshy, slug-like creatures that have an hard external skeleton type structure to help protect them. Mollusca can be found in both salt and fresh water, as well as on the land (snails). In the oceans, this structure is known as a seashell. Seashell Identification Website.

	This summer kids,moms and dads got together to go digging for shells.  The children, with help from their moms, made jewlery from the shells they found along the beach.
	See what treasures you can find on an afternoon at the beach!

Types of Sea Shells and Other Animals Found on the Alabama Gulf Coast

(we are adding pictures as we get them)

	Sand Dollars	The beautiful, fragile Sand Dollar is a favorite of both collectors and beachcombers. There is a wonderful legend surrounding the Sand Dollar. The story of Jesus Christ can be found in the Sand Dollar. On one side is the Christmas poinsettia ( this is the side pictured on our photo ). At the edge of the sand dollar are four holes that symbolize where Jesus was nailed to the cross and the hole in the side of the sand dollar represents the spear where Jesus was stabbed. On the reserve side is a picture of the Easter Lily which stands for Jesus's victory over death. If you break open the sand dollar you will release 5 tiny doves that represent the peace for all the earth that can be found in the story of Jesus's birth and death. Some say the five tiny teeth represent five angels that sang at Jesus's birth. The Sand Dollar is one of the few live shells to be found on the beach. Look closely in the wet sand where the tide rushes to the shore. But be careful, the sand dollar is very delicate and easy to break. It's best to place it in a container by itself.
	Sea Urchins
	Starfish
	Jellyfish
	Horseshoe Crabs
	Angel Wing
	Arks (Turkey Wing)	These thick, white shells are the most common shells found on the beaches of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. Their thick hard shell keeps them from breaking in the slurf and crashing waves.
	Auger	Because of this shell's design and texature, the Florida Auger is a favorite shell of our seashell collectors. The round whirls and gradated colors ending in a tapered point make augers an interesting shell for a collection. In the photo, the second shell on the left, bottom row is an example of a Cerith
	Bonnets	It's easy to see how this shell got it's name; the puffy shell looks like a bonnet ( ladies hat ) from another age. Most of the bonnets found along our sands are a pale white but sometimes you can find a bonnet with brown markings that make it resemble a nutmeg. The nutmeg has a harder shell and two teeth like folds along the edge of the shell's "mouth".
	Buttercup Lucine
	Cockles
	Conchs	The Fighting Conch may have gotten its name because, unlike most snails that quickly draw back into their shells when picked, the Fighting Conch thrashes about as if about to do battle. But it's only thrashing about trying to get the heck away! The Fighting Conch has a spire that is ringed by short blunt spikes. New shells are a soft golden brown with older shells ranging from chalky white to a dull blue. Conchs live in the water so the shells you find on the beach have washed ashore after the conch inside has died. That's why most often the shells are broken or have bore holes where the conch has been attacked by other sea life The conch on the bottom has been attacked by a sea snail. You can see the imprint where the snail bored into the outer shell and, ugg, had it's self a tasty conch meal.
	Clams
	Cones
	Coquinas	When you are walking along the edge of the water, ever notice all those little holes that pop up as the tide goes rushing back to the Gulf. Those are conquina doing one of nature's fastest disappearing acts. Conquina feed on plankton and need to stay in the wet sand to feed. On the shoreline, you will often find conquina shells spread open in the shape of a butterfly, hence the name butterfly shells. They come in a variety of colors. The purple conquinas pictured in the photo are known as Sunrise Conquina because the colors streaking outward remind one of a beautiful morning sunrise.
	Cowries
	Fusinus
	Jewel Boxes	These white chalky shells are called jewel boxes. When found in the water, these shells have long spines that jut out from the shell. A jewel box found while walking in the sand will, most often, have the spike worn down. If you carefully look at the shell on the lower bottom of the picture, you can see where the spikes rise from the shell. Shells range in color from chalky white to a mottled blue. When you dig for shells, the jewel box can be hard to find because the sand clings to the shell making it often hard to spot.
	Junonia (Volutes)
	Lion's Paw
	Moon Shell	One can find the delicate whirled Moon Snail above the water line feeding on mollusks. Looks can be decieving! This beautiful shell houses a snail that has teeth that can bore through a shell in about 10 minutes. And, if that's not enough of a deadly mence to its prey, the Moon Snail has a special gland that omits an acid that aids the Moon Snail to gets to its mollusk meal.
	Murex	The Giant Eastern Murex is a beautiful shell will it's whirls and ridges. Beached shells may be hard to spot because their chalky white shell blends so well with the sugar white beaches of the Gulf Coast. But once spotted, what a truly elegant shell to bring home as a memento!
	Nutmegs	Their beaded texture and brown coloring make the nutmeg a popular shell with collectors.
	Lettered Olives	Just like snowflakes, no two Lettered Olives are exactly alike. These shells are most often found just beneath the sand where Olives travel to find their next meal. These shells are prized for their bright glossy finish that are a natural part of the shell.
	Oysters
	Pen Shell	This is an excellant example of a Sawtooth pen shell. They are thin, with around 30 ribs, and are amber-to-golden in color.
	Queen Helmet
	Scallops	One of nature's most elegant gifts is the Scallop. The artist Botticelli used the scallop to showcase the goddess Venus in his painting The Birth of Venus. The scallops pictured here are Sunrise Scallops.
	Slipper Shells	Turn a Slipper Shell on it's back and you will find almost midway a shelf that gives the shell the appearence of a slipper such as a bedroom slipper or loafer. Sometimes you may hear them called a Boat Float or Quarterdecker because the shell resembles a rowboat and, in calm water, can be floated in a tide pool. This summer children had fun racing their Slipper Shells with their friends. The shell is also knows as a saddleback because as adult these snails can be found sacked on top of each other. See the shells on the top row, left side of the photo. Slipper Snails are capable of changing their sex to help ensure the surival of the species.
	Spiny Oysters
	Star Shells
	Sun Dials
	Top Shells
	Triton
	Tulips
	Tun
	Whelks
	Wentletraps

These are some of the seashell books that we found most helpful in recognizing the shells we found along the beaches of Orange Beach and Perdido Key.

• Florida's Seashells; A Beachcomber's Guide list the shell found along the coast line and provides clear pictures and a brief description of the types of shells. One of unique features of this book is a map of the state of Florida that extends into Perdido Key, and, thus, Orange Beach. Along the shoreline of the map are unbroken lines _______, broken lines__ __ __ or no lines. The unbroken line means the shell is common to this area, the broken line means the shell is harder to find or rare and no line mean forget about it. It cost $ 9.95.
• The book, Fabulous Florida Seashell, features photos of beautiful Florida seashell in glorious, gorgeous color. Interesting information is given about the animal and it's shell. While the shell may be beautiful, often the snail inside is not. Just a note when looking for books to help identify seashells, try to get books that pertain to your local area. Books that cover a broad range, say the world, often will not have photos or information that is helpful in identifying local shells.
• Craft stores such as Hobby Lobby have books that feature arts and crafts made from shells. One we have found helpful is Seashells from the Seashore. It has ideas from decorating pillar candles to mirror frames with your finds. And best of all, for us at Picard Rentals, there is a Special Section for Kids.

See Our Own Gulf Coast Beachcombing Book Shop!
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