{"id":9471,"date":"2012-02-06T16:30:44","date_gmt":"2012-02-06T21:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/?p=9471"},"modified":"2018-11-23T22:49:40","modified_gmt":"2018-11-24T03:49:40","slug":"similar-small-sanibel-seashells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/","title":{"rendered":"Similar Small Sanibel Seashells"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"mauve-mouth drill, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9479\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327336796&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9479 aligncenter\" title=\"mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Can you tell that these are four different shells?\u00a0The difference between these seashells is very slight.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"small shells Sanibel lighthouse\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-shells-Sanibel-lighthouse.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9480\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/small-shells-sanibel-lighthouse\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-shells-Sanibel-lighthouse.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327573693&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00076923076923077&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"small shells Sanibel lighthouse\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;small shells Sanibel lighthouse&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;small shells Sanibel lighthouse&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-shells-Sanibel-lighthouse.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9480 aligncenter\" title=\"small shells Sanibel lighthouse\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-shells-Sanibel-lighthouse-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"small shells Sanibel lighthouse\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-shells-Sanibel-lighthouse-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-shells-Sanibel-lighthouse.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9483\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327573729&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00076923076923077&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;small seashell apertures hermit crabs&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;small seashell apertures hermit crabs&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9483 aligncenter\" title=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0After 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.\u00a0I 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&#8217;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)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9479\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327336796&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9479 aligncenter\" title=\"mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"mauve mouth, gulf oyster drill, cantharus, pitted murex\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>From left to right&#8230; MAUVE-MOUTH DRILL, RIBBED CANTHARUS,\u00a0GULF OYSTER DRILL and a\u00a0PITTED MUREX. \u00a0Here are the apertures&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"aperture mauve mouth drill cantharus murex\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aperture-mauve-mouth-drill-cantharus-murex.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9478\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/aperture-mauve-mouth-drill-cantharus-murex\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aperture-mauve-mouth-drill-cantharus-murex.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327336932&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"aperture mauve mouth drill cantharus murex\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;aperture mauve mouth drill cantharus murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;aperture mauve mouth drill cantharus murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aperture-mauve-mouth-drill-cantharus-murex.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9478 aligncenter\" title=\"aperture mauve mouth drill cantharus murex\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aperture-mauve-mouth-drill-cantharus-murex-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"aperture mauve mouth drill cantharus murex\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aperture-mauve-mouth-drill-cantharus-murex-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/aperture-mauve-mouth-drill-cantharus-murex.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I showed the MAUVE-MOUTH DRILL (and it&#8217;s eggs) in my <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/24\/rare-sighting-mauve-mouth-drill-egg-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">January 24 post<\/a>\u00a0&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"mauve-mouth drills Calotrophon ostrearum\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mauve-mouth-drills-Calotrophon-ostrearum.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9336\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/24\/rare-sighting-mauve-mouth-drill-egg-case\/mauve-mouth-drills-calotrophon-ostrearum\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mauve-mouth-drills-Calotrophon-ostrearum.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327335937&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.01&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;mauve-mouth drills Calotrophon ostrearum&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"mauve-mouth drills Calotrophon ostrearum\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;mauve-mouth drills Calotrophon ostrearum&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;mauve-mouth drills Calotrophon ostrearum&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mauve-mouth-drills-Calotrophon-ostrearum.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9336 aligncenter\" title=\"mauve-mouth drills Calotrophon ostrearum\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mauve-mouth-drills-Calotrophon-ostrearum-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"mauve-mouth drills Calotrophon ostrearum\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mauve-mouth-drills-Calotrophon-ostrearum-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mauve-mouth-drills-Calotrophon-ostrearum.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>but now you can see how similar it is to the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/31\/candy-cantharus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RIBBED CANTHARUS<\/a><\/strong>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Ribbed Cantharus shells\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ribbed-Cantharus-shells.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9476\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/ribbed-cantharus-shells\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ribbed-Cantharus-shells.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327337549&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Ribbed Cantharus shells\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Ribbed Cantharus shells&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Ribbed Cantharus shells&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ribbed-Cantharus-shells.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9476 aligncenter\" title=\"Ribbed Cantharus shells\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ribbed-Cantharus-shells-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Ribbed Cantharus shells\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ribbed-Cantharus-shells-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ribbed-Cantharus-shells.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>and the GULF OYSTER DRILL&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"gulf oyster drills\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drills.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9477\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/gulf-oyster-drills\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drills.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327337158&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"gulf oyster drills\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;gulf oyster drills&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;gulf oyster drills&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drills.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9477 aligncenter\" title=\"gulf oyster drills\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drills-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"gulf oyster drills\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drills-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drills.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0I&#8217;ve only showed a <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/shellmuseum.org\/shells\/shelldetails.cfm?id=77\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GULF OYSTER DRILL<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0once before, which is strange because \u00a0they are somewhat common to find on Sanibel. So here&#8217;s a closeup&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Gulf Oyster Drill\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gulf-Oyster-Drill.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9473\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/gulf-oyster-drill-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gulf-Oyster-Drill.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327337984&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Gulf Oyster Drill\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Gulf Oyster Drill&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Gulf Oyster Drill&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gulf-Oyster-Drill.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9473 aligncenter\" title=\"Gulf Oyster Drill\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gulf-Oyster-Drill-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Gulf Oyster Drill\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gulf-Oyster-Drill-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gulf-Oyster-Drill.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"gulf oyster drill aperture\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drill-aperture.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9472\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/gulf-oyster-drill-aperture\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drill-aperture.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327338012&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"gulf oyster drill aperture\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;gulf oyster drill aperture&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;gulf oyster drill aperture&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drill-aperture.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9472 aligncenter\" title=\"gulf oyster drill aperture\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drill-aperture-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"gulf oyster drill aperture\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drill-aperture-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/gulf-oyster-drill-aperture.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0The <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/shellmuseum.org\/shells\/shelldetails.cfm?id=74\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PITTED MUREX<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is bit smaller (and not as common&#8230; for me any way) than the others but it&#8217;s still a bear to identify without &#8220;cheaters&#8221; on. And it is so similar too!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"pitted murex\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9474\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/pitted-murex\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327337883&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"pitted murex\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;pitted murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;pitted murex&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9474 aligncenter\" title=\"pitted murex\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"pitted murex\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"pitted murex aperture\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-aperture.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9475\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/pitted-murex-aperture\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-aperture.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.3&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327337917&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"pitted murex aperture\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;pitted murex aperture&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;pitted murex aperture&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-aperture.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9475 aligncenter\" title=\"pitted murex aperture\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-aperture-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"pitted murex aperture\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-aperture-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/pitted-murex-aperture.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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&#8230;.. I hate to tell you this&#8230;. but&#8230;. unfortunately, there a few more that look similar to these as well. For instance, &#8230;like that photo of my palm with the HERMIT CRAB shells? That top shell more to the left of the photo&#8230;. that&#8217;s a juvie APPLE MUREX! Doesn&#8217;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&#8217;s harder to identify (and I didn&#8217;t get a great photo of it) but I&#8217;m sure it was a RIBBED CANTHARUS too. And y&#8217;all thought <strong><a title=\"Seashell Identification\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/seashell-identification\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Seashell Identification<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was easy, didn&#8217;t you? heehee<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" href=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9483\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/06\/similar-small-sanibel-seashells\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-ZS10&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1327573729&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.3&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00076923076923077&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;small seashell apertures hermit crabs&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;small seashell apertures hermit crabs&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9483 aligncenter\" title=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" src=\"http:\/\/static.iloveshelling.com\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"small seashell apertures hermit crabs\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/small-seashell-apertures-hermit-crabs.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>RIBBED CANTHARUS, APPLE MUREX, MAUVE-MOUTH DRILL, broken RIBBED CANTHARUS (I&#8217;m sure).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can you tell that these are four different shells?\u00a0The 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. \u00a0After I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[838,1155,1224,1576,839,2279,79],"tags":[849,1150,1557,1577,2164,1578],"class_list":["post-9471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cantharus","category-gulf-oyster-drill-drill","category-mauve-mouth-drill","category-pitted-murex","category-ribbed-cantharus","category-seashell-fun-facts","category-seashells","tag-difference-between-shells","tag-gulf-oyster-drill","tag-mauve-mouth-drill-2","tag-pitted-mures","tag-ribbed-cantharus","tag-sanibel-hermit-crabs","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mauve-mouth-gulf-oyster-drill-cantharus-pitted-murex.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Nubb-2sL","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9471"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29878,"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9471\/revisions\/29878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iloveshelling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}