Archive for Rosy Wolf Snail
Shell Raisers On The Beaches Of Sanibel
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Hundreds of live FIGHTING CONCHS raised out of the sand at Lighthouse Beach yesterday to take a look around as the tide was going out.
I found one of the FIGHTING CONCHS hanging out in a tidal pool… but wait… I noticed something in the water beside it…
This FLORIDA FIGHTING CONCH was laying EGGS! The eggs are released in a gelatinous egg string then sand adheres to its thick jelly-like sheath.
I tried to get close enough to see how the eggs are released without disturbing this busy gal. If you look closely, you can see them shooting out! It’s that spout perpendicular to the eye. Go Momma! Raise some more shells!
I think this is a FIGHTING CONCH EGG STRING as well…. but why would she lay her eggs without being in the water? I followed the trail from the string to a healthy FIGHTING CONCH about a yard away. Hmmm. Maybe that jelly like sheath protects them when the tide recedes. I dunno, but I hope she raises healthy shells and I sure love to find new things like this!
Speaking of “raising shell”…. We met the Shell Raisers (The Shell Raisers on Facebook) at Blind Pass Sanibel! These 2 brothers, Eric and Chris, have been shelling all their lives and they even witnessed a BANDED TULIP laying eggs in their live shell tank.
Chris found that huge WHELK but put it back in the water since was occupied by a monster HERMIT CRAB. They were vacationing on Sanibel with their family from the east coast of Florida . Here are Chris and Eric with (from left to right) their mom Cheryl, Sarah, Amelia and Ava.
Back at the Sanibel lighthouse, Linda (Pensacola, FL) was busy finding the mini shells…
She found a mega WENTLETRAP along with some other sweet minis…
Her best find was this gorgeous MANGROVE PERIWINKLE…
If you look closely you can see a beautiful purple lip…
Bobby (Houston TX) finally found what he was looking for…WENTLETRAPS!!
I was asked a question on I Love Shelling Facebook page by Diane F about a shell I.D. It was that ROSE WOLF SNAIL again! I told y’all I keep forgetting the name of that shell but now that I can remember the name, I completely forgot to put it on my SEASHELL IDENTIFICATION page. This shell keeps stumping me some how! Thanks Diane for asking about this shell and sending such a beautiful picture of it. I’m going to use photo for my I.D page- Thank you!
Okay, one more thing… I saw the dolphins playing near the pier last night and I just happened to video them racing along the shoreline in front of an unsuspecting family. This is no fancy video…just a little clip of our own little Sanibel Sea World… 
Rosy Days at Blind Pass Captiva
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The shells at Blind Pass have shifted from the Sanibel side to a huge beautiful pile on the Captiva side because of a few days of northwest winds earlier in the week.
It was like old times watching the shells roll up in the surf only to quickly fall back in the Gulf playing catch me if you can. I thought I caught “the big guy” when I saw the tip of this JUNONIA right on top of the pile. Dang! The whole back end was gone. Oh well, he’s still pretty.
I did find a prize when I met Candy and her sister-in-law Angela. I am soooo tickled they are in their iLoveShelling tank tops! Awww- so cute. Thanks you guys!
Talking about cuties… Jordyn and her mom Lisa were enjoying sifting through the big shell pile too.
They had started filling up their shell bag with the SANIBEL SIX. They got the hardest one to find… the CONE but still needed the TULIP (I think the WORMIE makes up for the TULIP!).
Then Jordyn held out a shell that they said they couldn’t identify. I looked at the shell and had to laugh. No! I didn’t laugh at them… I laughed because Tricia Gorman had just posted (2 days ago) on iLoveShelling Facebook page a “mystery shell” she found at the Sanibel lighthouse. It was the same shell. It’s a land snail but for some reason the name of it always escapes me.
So since I can never remember the name of it, Holly Giehler identified it as a ROSY WOLF SNAIL. Yes, that’s it! Holly, you have got an eye! Remember her? She was the first one to guess where our Thailand CONES were found too. So thanks to Tricia, Holly, and Jordyn I don’t think I’ll ever forget the name of this land snail that sometimes washes up from the Gulf Of Mexico on our beaches. It’s a ROSY WOLF SNAIL (Note to self: remember this!).
Although we had more lines of SEAWEED than usual washing in with the waves and shells, the Gulf was a brilliant blue with shades of aqua and green highlighted with creamy white caps coming in from the north. I captured just a few seconds of this on video. Enjoy the wind, water, waves… and shells! (oh, and please ignore that big splash on my lens. geez. I got a little too close!)
FYI- Dredging will start at Blind Pass beginning next week and run through August to open up the pass. When they start pumping the sand on to Bowman’s Beach… there could be shells, people! Click HERE for details.
FYI #2- More Thailand pics coming soon. (but don’t worry! I’ll keep you posted on Southwest Florida beaches too)
