Eastern Melampus snail shell ......... (only 1/2 inch big)

As you know, I love the mini shells. The problem is I just think they are so stinkin cute I get carried away with how adorable they are and sometimes clump them all together as a group. Everybody loves baby things, right? I don’t clump the WENTLETRAPS and my candies (JUVENILE HORSE CONCHS) with them because …well… they are my faves. But I think I better start paying more attention to each different mini shell to give them their due respect. They deserve it! They are just as beautiful.

I misnamed this shell pictured above on my September 14 post Many Mini Sea Shells as being a Marginella. I’m not sure why I’ve always called it that but it’s not. It’s a MELAMPUS. Thank goodness we have MurexKen !!!! He commented on that post to very kindly let us know that it looked like a Melampus bidentatus. He says there four species of Melampus on Sanibel so, of course, all I searched for at the lighthouse beach was Melampus shells to find a few more.

Melampus sea shells

They all look so different! I don’t think I found all 4 species but maybe the bottom left is a COFFEE MELAMPUS. I will definitely pay more attention to these little cuties and hopefully I won’t mislead yall to call them by the wrong name….. but then, this is how we learn, right?

Dragonfly on the beach

Meet  more shellers on the beach ….

Samantha, Jean and Stephanie (Orlando, Ft Myers)

Ashley, Amber, Holly, Nick and Margaret (Salt Lake, UT and Ft Myers)