The Shells of Maryland

 

Third day in a row!!!!!! I'm on a roll!

Ok, hi people!

Today decided to scale back a little. Instead of talking about all the great, colorful , big and exotic shells from Florida, especially Sanibel, or North Carolina, I want to introduce some shells that can be found in Maryland.

 

Why Maryland, because that is where I live at this moment. Now you might know that I'm Russian, but because my parents have jobs in America right now, I live in MD.

 

Let's get started then!

 

 

I am using this shell ID book, which I bought about six years ago on Assateague Island to ID my shells and get all my background info  for my MD shells.

 

Now, all these shells can be found not only in Maryland, there range extends North or South on the East Coast too. That''s why, you, my reader, might have found these same shells but not in MD, but say in New York.

 

 

First is the Three-Lined Nassa. This little guy ranges all the way from Canada to NE Florida. They are most abundant on intertidal flats where they feed as scavengers.

 

 

The Bruised Nassa is related to the Three-lined Nassa. But it is slightly thicker in shape. They have been observed feeding on the egg cases of worms, so they might be carnivores.

 

The Knobbed Whelk looks similar to the Lightning Whelk but it is a right-hand shell, whereas the Lightning Whelk is one of the rare left-handed univalves.

You can see my post on right-handed versus left-handed mollusks in one of my February 2014 posts called "The Evolution of a Name". (Sorry, but I don't know how to attach

a link to a word, yet).

 

The Channeled Whelk looks similar to other whelks, but as you can see its little knobs or whorls are flattened. I found both this guy and the Knobbed Whelk in the photo above on Assateague Island.

 

This was a surprise! I didn't know that the Angulate Wentletrap's range extends up North all the way to New York. I always thought of this as a southern shell.

Ah well, we all learn as long as we live...

 

The Shark Eye, a favorite of mine! It gets it's name from the eye-like tip of the shell, on this one it's blue. These snails prey on Clam Shells and Coquina Shells.

 

This is the underside of the same Shark Eye, and you can see the brown button-like pad that covers the umbilicus of the shell. It is a called a callus.

 

This photo is a little "busy", but the main part are the three "tear-shaped" shells in the senter of the photo which form a line. They are Slipper Shells. These guys lack Operculums ( the "trap doors" that protect the body of the snail when a mollusk "closes" itself).

 

 

Blue Mussels...These guys can be found on both coasts- from the Arctic to South Carolina, and from Alaska to Baja California. Talk about widespread!

 

Another favorite- the delicate Angel Wing! You can see how it gets its name immediately.

These guys are common on the West Coast of Florida ( that means Sanibel!!!!!!), but they extend all the way up North to South Massachusetts.

 

Well guys, time presses, and I gotta go.

Let's hope that I can post again soon!

 

Bye, Yaroshelllava :D