Archive for Morton’s Egg Cockle

Jan
23

Sunny Side Up Egg Cockles

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Mortons Yellow Egg Cockle

This is no yoke….. errr… I mean joke! The inside of this MORTON’S YELLOW EGG COCKLE is really this yellow! And some of the exterior patterns are just as pretty.

exterior mortons yellow egg cockle

We found quite a few of these on some of the sandy mud flats at Cayo Costa.

interiors of mortons yellow egg cockles florida

There is such a variety of patterns on the interiors and exteriors of these cutie little shells.

morton yellow egg cockle seashells Sanibel

Yep, I said “little” shells. Wanna see how little they are?

Laevicardium mortoni mortons egg cockle size

I would have completely missed these little guys if it hadn’t been for MurexAlice pointing these beauties out to me. I felt so lucky to be able to beach comb with her since she showed me another cutie little shell I would have missed. This is the FLORIDA LYONSIA

Florida lyonsia Lyonsia floridana

It is so delicate and paper thin I thought I would break the valves apart before I got home to photograph it. But… Yes! It made it home with both valves still attached. I rinsed the shells off but those little grains of sand seem to be attached so I let them be.

interior Lyonsia floridana lyonsia

I’m not sure if you can see the iridescent shimmer to it, but it reminds me of a tiny little ANGEL WING with a pearlized finish.

size of Lyonsia floridana florida lyonsia seashell

Okay, let me back up a bit before I forget to show you this….I mentioned the MORTON’S YELLOW EGG COCKLE in previous post “I’m Telling On Some Tellins” and it reminded me of an orchid plant. I got a comment from Jackie saying that it was the Oncidium orchid that it looks like. Yes, that’s it! I found a photo from Wikipedia that will show you why it these shells remind me of an orchid. Do you see why now?

Oncidium-altissimum orchid

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Feb
22

I’m Tellin’ On Some Tellins

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Crested White Crested Tellin

White Crested Tellin

The island seashell telegraph was buzzing yesterday with the news that a rare WHITE CRESTED TELLIN was found by our shelling friend Nancy (see her on post Seashell In My Pocket) while she was shelling the out islands with her husband Dayton and their best friends Gary and Sandy. Look at the cool serrated edges on this shell- those aren’t chips. This photo only shows the one side of the shell…the other side is attached as well! They took it to the shop Sanibel Seashell Industries and he said it was a rare find.

Rose Petal Tellins Gary Preston

Rose Petal Tellins

Gary found all of these ROSE PETAL TELLINS out on the out islands too.  They got out there by hiring shelling guide Brian Holaway to take them out near North Captiva and Cayo Costa.

Yellow Alternate Tellin

Yellow Alternate Tellin

I think it’s the prettiest yellow ALTERNATE TELLIN I’ve ever seen. Guess who found this. Nancy! She was a hawk eye out on those flats. This shell looks similar to a COQUINA in this picture but it’s about an inch bigger.

Alternate Tellins

Alternate Tellins

These are the color that these TELLINS normally are. Nice… but can’t really compare to that yellow!

Scotch Bonnet Nancy

Nancy's Scotch Bonnet

Brian surely did not disappoint this crowd. Nancy found this SCOTCH BONNET too!! This was her first time she has found a SCOTCH BONNET and she said Brian seemed just as excited as she was.

Morton's Egg Cockle close

Morton's Egg Cockle

They all found MORTON’S EGG COCKLES which are another shell crafter favorite since the inside is such a bright yellow. I forget the variety, but to me, they look like orchid petals. Please help me if you know what orchid I’m thinking of.

Purplish Tagelus

Purplish Tagelus

The shelling continued with PURPLISH TAGELUS shells.

large Wentletrap

Sandy's wentletrap

Sandy found this super big WENTLETRAP and lots of BABY’S EARS. You wouldn’t believe the bags and bags of goodies the whole gang brought back.

Bags of shells

Bags of shells

They all could not get over how much fun they had and how many shells they found with Brian as their guide ( click HERE for info on Brian). Congrats to you all and thanks for sharing your goodies.

shellers Minnesota

Gary, Sandy, Nancy and Dayton (MN) from October