Jewel Boxes and Kitten's Paws

I've been sorting through my shell collection lately and realizing how similar many shells are. So here's another post with shell comparisons.

Here are my Jewel Boxes:

First is the Florida Spiny Jewel Box. These mollusks attach themselves to shells, corals and pebbles when young, but eventually become free and just lie on the sea floor. I've found these shells in North Carolina and both coasts of Florida.

Next is the Corrugate Jewel Box- it looks kinda like a deformed Kitten's Paw. I've found all my Corrugate Jewel Boxes on Sanibel.

And here is the Kitten's Paw! These little shells are scallops and they are commonly found in Florida beaches due to their toughness. However. Their left valves are most commonly found because the right valve shells remain attached to rocks and rubble.

And here's a comparison between the Corrugate Jewel Box (left) and Kitten's Paw (right). As you can see, both shells are approximately the same size and reddish-orange and white coloring. However, the Kitten's Paw has several well defined ridges that sorta look like fingers while the Corrugate Jewel Box is just a shapeless blob.

Finally, here is the beautiful and delicate Leafy Jewel Box. These shells are generally yellow, but can also be found in orange and lavender colors.

And here is a comparison of al four shells (from left to right): Leafy Jewel Box, Corrugate Jewel Box, Kitten's Paw and Florida Spiny Jewel Box. The Florida Spiny Jewel Box is the biggest and can be told apart by its spikes. The other ones are about the same size, but vary either in color or shape.

I hope that was helpful and that you'll dive into your shell collection right now to sort your Jewel Boxes!

Have fun,

Lava of Ocean Dawn :)

Snow Day Shells

So today we had no school!!!!!!!!!!
YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I spent the day relaxing at home and going sledding with my friends.
While at home, I decided to do some more shell sorting, you all saw the state of my collection.
And lo and behold, I did manage to sort out a few more shells. Here they are:....

The Corrugate Jewel Box. I don't have enough info on this shell yet....

The Cayenne Keyhole Limpet.

The reason that they are called "keyhole" limpets is because the holes in the shells are shaped like keyholes.

And the Striped Falselimpet.

Limpets are gastropods that live on rocks in the tidal zone. They can move with the help of their foot and feed on algae with their tongue-like radula. The hole in the top of their shells allows the limpets to pass exhaust from their lungs, while falselimpets breathe air and are found above the tide.

 

The Antillean Nerite. As you can see it lacks "teeth" on its inner lip. This helped me distinguish it from the next shell, a Four-toothed Nerite. It is also called the Lightning Nerite. This shell can be fond in brackish water in sheltered areas.

Finally, the Four-toothed Nerite!(or Variegated Nerite)!

I know this picture isn't the best, in reality it's much easier to see this species four "teeth" on its inner left. But you can still see them if you look at the left image.

This mollusk is commonly found with the Bleeding Tooth in areas of high wave action, on expose rocks. It lays its eggs on the same rocks in dome-shaped capsules.

 

Well that's it!

See ya soon!
Lava of Ocean Dawn :D