Shell collectors ?

[Sam Miller III]

@Eyegore
Welcome to the very small world of tridacna owners
This beautiful shell has immediately become a very valuable treasured family heirloom

Mrs. Miller and I have been diving and shell collecting- we prefer "Conchology" for a very very long time

Accordingly, we have two very large mirrow image tridacnas , one medium size set and one small juvenile set approximate 4-6 inches in length.

Tridacnas are a the largest known shell of such grace and beauty. Since all harvesting is prohibited in most areas they have become extremely rare and therefore very valuable and will continue to increase in value as time passes

Protect it and display with great pride and welcome to the very small world of tridacna owners

Samuel Miller,111

 

[icechip]

Not all that fancy, but I liked these enough to bring them back with me. Actually started bringing them back for my daughter, but I seemed to be more impressed with them than her. So they just kind of became mine. All from coastal Maine waters.

 

[TMHeimer]

Not all that fancy, but I liked these enough to bring them back with me. Actually started bringing them back for my daughter, but I seemed to be more impressed with them than her. So they just kind of became mine. All from coastal Maine waters.

View attachment 603575

Moon Snail, Collus Whelk, Northern Buccinum and New England Neptune-- welcome to Nova Scotia!
I have yet to find a live full size adult Neptune.

 

[Eyegore]

Found a Marlinspike Auger at Place of Refuge the other day:

 

[Eyegore]

And a Beerfish shell at Hookena:

 

[Wookie]

And a Beerfish shell at Hookena:
View attachment 622953

Red Stripe? Or San Miguel?

 

[WeRtheOcean]

I went through my shell collecting phase as a kid. I grew up in the Ocean State (Rhode Island), and before the age of ten, I knew the common name of every shell on the beach. Knobbed whelk, slipper shell, blue mussel, quahog, on and on. At one time I may have had a dried starfish, but only if it was already dead and dried when I found it; if I saw the tube feet wiggling, I tossed it back in the water. I just never was able to kill an animal for such a trivial reason as to admire its shell. It kinda bothered when one of the shell books I borrowed from the library had a section on collecting and killing live shells. That had never occurred to me before.

At some point I went vegetarian.

Now I only collect shells for two reasons: if I have some scientific question about a given species, or if it is an unusually large or rare shell. In the first category, I have a substantial collection of Asiatic freshwater clam shells from various places I have traveled, as I investigated their size range and variation. In the second category, I have an Atlantic triton, whichever species of helmet shell is common in the Greater Antilles, and a flamingo tongue. In no case do I collect a live one, whether occupied by the original mollusk or by a crustacean.

 

[agilis]

I have a Triton Trumpet shell, a really large one, that I picked up while snorkeling in Jamaica back in the late 70s. I also have a huge Moon shell, softball size, that I picked up about 20 years ago while seining in Barnegat Bay. That's it. Both were uninhabited. When I was a little kid spending a couple of weeks at the Jersey Shore with my family I collected some of those huge white Surf Clam shells while mask diving in the surf for the adults to use as ash trays, but I was pretty young, about 8 or 9. I bought a small amount of 'natural' sand on line when I set up my salt water aquarium after moving down here 3 years ago, just enough to thinly cover the bottom. It was composed of small broken bits of coral and lots of tiny shells. Really tiny.

 

[Swedinsidemount]

TBH i rather collect artifacts than shells. One of my "best finds" was a cannon ball in Bimini 2012. It is quite rare to find an old one that's not entirely overgrown and lodged inside some coral. To get it up we had to position it onto our vessels anchor and wind it up. Once we carried it from the bow to a safer place astern we realized that the anchor was completely bent! It was a hefty anchor at least about 35lbs. Couldn't find a picture but it went to a marine sanctuary i think(onshore of course). If anyone wishes to search for artifacts or even larger shells the area around the shipwreck SAPONA in Bimini is sweet. Good times...

<TG>

 

[TMHeimer]

And a Beerfish shell at Hookena:
View attachment 622953

I have several of those "stubbys" from the '80s. They seem to crop up once in a while.