Gastropods Everywhere!

More shells today and that will be the end of the gastropods! There are a couple I have collected but didn't include in here which are the slipper shell and the periwinkle -- both very common although you don't see the periwinkle except on the bays except occasionally.


This is called a jujube top shell. I think it is what they call a sundial as well. They don't get very big and a lot of people pass them up on the beach thinking they are broken tops of other shells (my sister even threw one out because she hadn't realized it was not a broken shell).

I finally found out what this one was called as it wasn't on the cards I used for several years down here. I have found them a few times in the past and they are called gaudy naticas. That is all I know!

This snail is called a shark's eye and can be found from 3/4 inch up to about 2 inches in size and a pretty substantial shell.

These are again some of my favorites -- the lettered olives. They are bright and shiny and I have found them up to about 3 1/2 inches long and as small as 3/4 of an inch. They are most common on the beach at Lover's Key.

This is a king conch. It looks a bit like the fighting conch but has different colorations and I haven't seen a large one of these. I saw them more commonly on the beaches at Sanibel than here on Ft. Myers Beach. I must say that overall I have found a better collection of shells over here than Sanibel probably because shell collectors flock to Sanibel to collect!

These are ceriths and are quite common on the beach. According to the identification guide, there are two types -- one a fly specked cerith and the other just a common cerith. They both look the same to me but maybe someone wiser can tell me the differences!

Last but certainly not the least is the very common auger. I have found these in about every size and color on the beach even when I can't find any other shells!! They range up to about 1 1/2 inches in length.

Tomorrow I will put up my pictures of bivalves -- those with two shells and the animal in between. I can't identify all of them and don't even have pictures of all the ones I have found but will forge ahead with what I do have!!

The weather continues to be absolutely fabulous here and I don't relish heading back to the miserable northeast for gloom and snow. Hopefully, it will be all done by the time I head back after Christmas.