BEACHED BEAUTY

The subject of shells seldom found on the beach came up in the comments section of A Beach Lover's Place the other day. That got me thinking about the shells I've unexpectedly discovered during my 30 years or so of shelling Sanibel's beaches, shells that are seldom seen there for one reason or another. So I've photographed some of those from my own collection to share with those of you who might find them of interest.


I finally found my first (and potentially only) Junonia last winter. It was rolling onto the beach in shallow water on a cold, rainy, windy day and landed right at my feet as I walked by. I couldn't believe my eyes. Heart thumping with excitement, I bent down to pick it up and slipped it deep into my pocket for a better look once we were back in our nice, warm car. Pitted and worn though it is, it's absolutely beautiful to me and one of my greatest treasures.


Three years ago I found this group of Single-Toothed Simnia shells lying in the sand a little above the tideline. I'd never before seen any of these shells on the beach before then, and despite looking carefully for them since (particularly on sea fans that may have washed ashore), have not seen a single one anywhere. I understand there's also a stage in their growth when they are yellow rather than pink, but I haven't seen any of those, either.

Wentletraps (aka staircase shells) are my favorite shells, bar none. I am obsessive about finding them and don't consider a day of shelling successful unless I've found at least one. They aren't rare by any means, but it can take a trained eye to find them. The wentletrap grows to no more than 1 1/2" long and is one of the most popular shells used in creating sailor's valentines. There are actually shellers who focus only on collecting them and even people who come to Sanibel for that purpose alone.



I always get a tickle in my chest when I spy one of these tiny beauties on the beach. These baby Lace Murex shells always have an coral pink tip and the tiniest of them are entirely coral color. Most of mine are only about 3/8" long, although a number of them are even smaller. They are very hard to find, at least in my experience.

I suppose this is one of those shells that most would consider unattractive or even creepy, but I'm fascinated by the way they're built up of individual plates that allow them to bend and curl up like a pill bug, if that were their habit. These shells are Chitons and on very rare occasions I find one on the beach attached to another type of shell or a rock.

I hope I haven't bored y'all with this self indulgent post, but it's certainly been fun for me to photograph, reminisce over and write about these seldom seen beached beauties.