Archive for Ribbed Cantharus
Similar Small Sanibel Seashells
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Can you tell that these are four different shells? The difference between these seashells is very slight.
I found a few cutie little shells at the lighthouse that looked very similar but when I turned them over to look at the apertures to correctly identify them, I found little HERMIT CRABS in each one.
After I took the pictures, I put the shells back in the water where I found them then got inspired to head home to sift through my collection of unsorted shells. I had so many of these smaller shells lumped together so it was time to make sure I had the right identity on each one. Okay, so let’s go back and look at the shells I found in my collection at home that were so similar (but not exactly the same kind I found on the beach)…
From left to right… MAUVE-MOUTH DRILL, RIBBED CANTHARUS, GULF OYSTER DRILL and a PITTED MUREX. Here are the apertures…
I showed the MAUVE-MOUTH DRILL (and it’s eggs) in my January 24 post …
but now you can see how similar it is to the RIBBED CANTHARUS…
and the GULF OYSTER DRILL…
I’ve only showed a GULF OYSTER DRILL once before, which is strange because they are somewhat common to find on Sanibel. So here’s a closeup…
The PITTED MUREX is bit smaller (and not as common… for me any way) than the others but it’s still a bear to identify without “cheaters” on. And it is so similar too!
So now we can sift through our collections and finally identify the differences between these four shells now that we can see them side by side. Uhhhh….. I hate to tell you this…. but…. unfortunately, there a few more that look similar to these as well. For instance, …like that photo of my palm with the HERMIT CRAB shells? That top shell more to the left of the photo…. that’s a juvie APPLE MUREX! Doesn’t it look like the rest of the shells? And the shell on the far right side of my palm has a broken base so it’s harder to identify (and I didn’t get a great photo of it) but I’m sure it was a RIBBED CANTHARUS too. And y’all thought Seashell Identification was easy, didn’t you? heehee
RIBBED CANTHARUS, APPLE MUREX, MAUVE-MOUTH DRILL, broken RIBBED CANTHARUS (I’m sure).
Seashell Jewelry ….. For One Day
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I always love to see what other people do with the shells they find combing the beaches. Sharlene found these DOVE SHELLS on a beach near her home in Puerto Rico and she decided to make them into earrings. They look great…but then I think she could make SEA PORK look good too, right? She also made a simple but very cool necklace out of an AUGER. I might have to borrow your idea, Sharlene.
But then I’ve said that before, haven’t I? After seeing Kathy’s Junonia Necklace (my post last year) and other inspirations like Sharlene’s necklace, I’m reminded that I was going to make a great necklace too out of my shells but this is as far as I got. I bought waxed linen to thread some shells to hang from my fabulous necklace to be. It’s still sitting….. waiting…..
That’s okay. One day. But until then, I want to show you a few other finds from my weekend. There were a lot of live shells in the water around Middle Gulf Drive but there were a few good empty smaller shells like the ones Mark and Rene from Miami found…
This is a beautiful RIBBED CANTHARUS Mark found along with a BANDED TULIP, OLIVES, a NUTMEG and a CONCH.
Right after I ooooed at that orange CANTHARUS (I consider that “candy” too), I found a TINTED CANTHARUS…..
Since it was a full moon on Friday with negative low tides, I thought we’d have a little better shelling this weekend along the middle beaches of Sanibel. Maybe I should have gone to Blind Pass but we had rain and thunder on and off all weekend so the minute I hear thunder…. I know there’s lightning somewhere. Yikes! That’s when I stay off the beach!
Zippy Mini Seashells Video
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Miniature seashells
These are just a few little minis that we found along the beach in the tidal pools at low tide on Sanibel. Obviously they are empty without their original inhabitants. Sometimes after the mollusk dies and leaves the shell empty, another creature takes up residency…. HERMIT CRABS! Check out this short video of these little mini shells inhabited by tiny crazy hermit crabs zipping here and there.
They are so cute, aren’t they? I just love seeing that little WENTLETRAP running around! heehee Here are a few more we found that didn’t have any live creatures inside them that we were able to bring home. Please remember, do not take any shell with a live animal inside it. It’s not fair to kill them and it’s against the law here in Lee County.
Orange Ribbed Cantharus
Tusk shells
Single tusk shell
Baby horse conch shells....Candies!
Periwinkle seashell
While Clark and I were walking along the surf line looking for minis, we had a fella that swam along us for quite some time…
Cownose ray in surf
Candy Cantharus
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Ribbed Cantharus
It was a great beach day today with calm, warm weather in the 70′s even though it was hard to find any un-picked-over shell piles. I did, however, find these little RIBBED CANTHARUS that look like they’d fit right in with my little horsies (JUVENILE HORSE CONCHS) in my “candy” dish.
Tinted Cantharus
While I was getting info on the RIBBED CANTHARUS, I realized that I had found this TINTED CANTHARUS last week and had no idea they were related. So the happy cousins get to hang out together to start a new “candy ” dish.
I introduced myself to Neal and Natalia from Florida’s east coat after I snapped this photo of them gazing at the sunset in each others arms. So sweet!
