{"id":313,"date":"2021-10-09T04:07:26","date_gmt":"2021-10-09T04:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/?p=313"},"modified":"2024-09-03T16:44:27","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T16:44:27","slug":"rare-and-collectable-shells-of-southwest-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/rare-and-collectable-shells-of-southwest-florida","title":{"rendered":"Rare and Collectable Shells of Marco Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beachcombing for shells, otherwise known as “Shelling” has become all the craze.\u00a0 Especially here in Southwest Florida.\u00a0 Up until recently, Sanibel and Captiva has been the go-to place for finding some of the rarest sea shells in the USA… but now Marco Island is the hottest new place to go Shelling.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Marco Island’s barrier islands and sand bars are very dynamic and always changing shape.\u00a0 Recently the sand bars near Dickman’s point on Marco Island’s south side of the island has grown several acres.\u00a0 The more sand that gets exposed equals more shells to find.\u00a0 Some argue that Keewaydin, Tigertail or sand-dollar spit is the best place to shell… but the best shells are found just south of Caxambas Park on the sand bars around Kice Island and Dickman’s point. Additionally, you can only access these island by watercraft, so it’s less foot traffic and more shells. You can easily kayak out to the sand bars in 10-20 minutes from Caxambas Park by renting a kayak from Paddle Marco<\/a>.\u00a0 All day only costs $50!\u00a0 That’s half the cost of a boat tour out there and the boats will only take you out for up to 3 hours. How can you beat it?<\/p>\n

Here are the top 10 shells to look for on Marco Island.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 Junonia<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"junonia \"junonia<\/p>\n

The Junonia is the holy grail of shells to find in SWFL.\u00a0 It grows to a maximum of 5 inches tall but most hover around 3-4 inches tall.\u00a0 It’s a very fragile shell, so don’t be surprised if you only find fragments of it on the beach.\u00a0 The reason it’s so rare is because it’s a deep water shell only stirred up by storms.\u00a0 You will never find a live Junonia unless you dive for it.\u00a0 These shells currently sell on eBay or Etsy for over $150 USD.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Some people just like to hold on to them and some people make jewelry out of them.<\/p>\n

2) Lace Murex<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Murex is just as rare as the Junonia.\u00a0 Murex come in different colors like red (also called the Rose Murex), brown and white.\u00a0 They aren’t very big, only 2 inches maximum.<\/p>\n

3) Scotch Bonnett<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"marco<\/p>\n

The Scotch Bonnett is just as rare as a Junonia or Lace Murex.\u00a0 It almost looks like a white chocolate that you could eat from an expensive candy box.\u00a0 it grows to about 2 inches long and has a beautiful shape.\u00a0 Find this one and hold on to it, it’s definitely a collector!<\/p>\n

4) Alphabet Cone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t get this shell confused with the infamous Junonia!\u00a0 They look alike from a distance but you’ll notice the alphabet cone has slightly different spots and a different shape (just like a cone or tornado).\u00a0 The alphabet cone is related to the Florida cone which has no spots and is orange in color.\u00a0 If you see a live alphabet cone or Florida cone, do not touch it, as you may go into electric shock!<\/p>\n

5) Worm Shell<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"marco<\/p>\n

Can you guess why it’s called a worm shell?\u00a0 Good job.\u00a0 These shells have a beautiful spiral shape with a sharp pointed end that almost look like an Auger.\u00a0 Pretty rare shell to find and definitely something worth keeping.\u00a0 These usually grow to around 4-5 inches long.\u00a0 They are also found in the indian ocean!<\/p>\n

6) Sand Dollar<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"marco
\n\"sand<\/p>\n

Sand dollars can be found year-round on Marco Island but they are more common in the summer.\u00a0 They live in shallow waters near the coastline.\u00a0 You can tell if a sand dollar is dead or alive by it’s color.\u00a0 If it’s brown, leave it down.\u00a0 If it’s white, it’s alright (meaning it’s dead, take it home).\u00a0 Don’t put your sand dollars in a bag, they’ll break as they are super fragile.\u00a0 Put the in a box.<\/p>\n

7) Banded Tulip<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"banded<\/p>\n

This shell known for it’s perfectly straight bands that run horizontal around it’s exterior is always fun to find on the beach.\u00a0 It’s somewhat common and they can grow to around 5 inches tall.\u00a0 Inside is a black snail that can droop out around 4 inches too!\u00a0 Make sure there’s no snail inside if you take one home.\u00a0 Shine them up for a beautiful grayish brown color.<\/p>\n

8) Lettered Olive<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Native Americans used the lettered olive for jewelry and is one of the prettiest shells on the beach.\u00a0 It doesn’t grow to be very big, only about 3 inches maximum.\u00a0 Just like any other shell, it might have a snail inside so let it go if it does!<\/p>\n

9) Horse Conch<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"horse \"horse<\/p>\n

This is the A-Predator of the Marco Island & Naples mud flats!\u00a0 This shell (or should we say snail?) is the biggest snail in North America!\u00a0 It’s bright orange color cannot be mistaken.\u00a0 It grows up to 2 FT long and can weigh up to 10 lbs!\u00a0 This snail eats other snails including the lightning whelk.\u00a0 It’s been known to be a cannibal as well!\u00a0 The Horse Conch is the state shell of Florida and it’s protected on state land.\u00a0 The meat inside the shell is edible but it’s not the meat you’ll find in conch soup or salad.\u00a0 That would be Queen Conch meat, which is only found on the east coast and the keys.<\/p>\n

10) Lightning Whelk<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"live \"marco<\/p>\n

The Lightning Whelk is one of the most common shells found in Marco Island but did you know it’s the state shell of Texas?\u00a0 It’s found all along the gulf coast. Most of the time you’ll find small whelks about 2-3 inches in length.\u00a0 If you’re lucky you’ll find a full grown shell that grows up to 15 inches!\u00a0 These are the only shells that have a left-hand opening (meaning the opening is on the left of the shell!)\u00a0 also known as a “sinistral” shell. If you find this shell, it might have a black snail inside, so remember to release the shell back into the water. If there’s no snail inside, take it home!\u00a0 Use it as a lawn ornament or shelf display.\u00a0 Native Americans used it to drink out of, carve out canoes and make weapons from it.<\/p>\n

Well there you have it!<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are plenty of other shells that didn’t make the list such as the fighting conch, pen shell, pear whelk, venus sun ray and more.\u00a0 If you’re looking to learn more about these shells and snails then consider booking a kayak rental<\/a> today with Paddle Marco<\/a> and paddle out to the sand bars just south of Marco Island for a day of shelling! Paddle marco supplied a waterproof bag, laminated map and laminated shell ID chart.<\/p>\n

A few more pictures…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"marco \"shell \"marco \"junonia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beachcombing for shells, otherwise known as “Shelling” has become all the craze.\u00a0 Especially here in Southwest Florida.\u00a0 Up until recently, Sanibel and Captiva has been the go-to place for finding some of the rarest sea shells in the USA… but now Marco Island is the hottest new place to go Shelling.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Marco Island’s barrier … Continue reading Rare and Collectable Shells of Marco Island<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,70,7,1,71,2,80],"tags":[21,23,83,73,8,82,81,25,24],"class_list":["post-313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kayaking","category-marco-island","category-nature","category-news","category-paddling","category-rentals","category-shells","tag-horse-conch","tag-junonia","tag-kayak","tag-kayaking","tag-marco-island","tag-sanibel","tag-sea-shells","tag-shelling","tag-shells","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":483,"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313\/revisions\/483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paddlemarco.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}