Where Can I Meet Other Shellers Locally?

Besides the beach, try:

Houston Conchology Society
http://www.houstonshellclub.com/


Check the website above for current meeting times.

Where Can I Find More Information?

Sources Used:
(search the library catalog for these titles and more @ http://library.lonestar.edu/hip/cyf.htm)

• Kingdom of the Seashell by R. Tucker Abbott (American Malacologists, 1993)
• National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Shells by Brian Cassie (Scholastic, 2000)
• The Natural History of Shells by Geerat J. Vermeij (Princeton UP, 1993)
• Shape of Life (PBS) http://www.pbs.org/kcet/shapeoflife/animals/echinoderms.html
• Shell by Alex Arthur (DK, 2000)
• Shells: Treasures of the Sea by Leonard Hill (Levin Associates, 1996)
• Top 10 Shelling Beaches by Steve Millburg (Coastal Living Magazine)http://www.coastalliving.com/coastal/travel/bestofthecoast/article/0,14587,1582251,00.html
  

How to Organize the Shells

Group by geography, type, or size
- Box with glass or plastic lid
- Foam to cushion shells

Basic information to include with shell:
•Common and scientific name
•Date
•Place

How to Identify the Shells

• Magnifying glass
• Field guides
• Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum photos @ http://www.shellmuseum.org/sanibel_shells_pictures.html
  

How to Clean the Shells

• Rinse in water and let dry away from sun
• “Soak in 50/50 bleach and water for a few hours”
  

What & How to Collect

Take only specimens without animals inside.

• Bring containers – bag, covered jar, or bucket
• Take shovel or digging tool, sieve or framed mesh sorter
• Take pencil and plastic-covered note pad
• Return rocks and other habitats to their original position if moved to find shells

What to Wear When Collecting

• Take a jacket and hat during non-summer months
• Wear waterproof, non-skid shoes (NOTE: old sneakers will do)
• Use sunscreen and hat in spring and summer

Where Do I Look for Shells?

• Rock tide pools
• Sandbars
• Tidal flats
• Seaweed
• Piers
• Driftlines
  

Why Is the Shell Empty?

• Red tides from nitrates and phosphates
• Invasive non-native species
• Predators may:
  - Bore holds and take contents
  - Pry open contents
  - Swallow whole and then discard shell later
  

What Time is Best for Shelling?

Go during low tide for the greatest expanse of beach and shells - check weather reports for low tide times.

Go after a storm - cold fronts can push water away from the beach, somewhat like a low tide and tropical storms can churn up the water to bring shells ashore.

Where Is the Best Shelling?

See Coastal Living Magazine (March 2007) for the complete story and map.

1. Sanibel Island, Florida
2. Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
3. Bandon, Oregon
4. Galveston, Texas
5. Tunnels Beach, Kauai, Hawaii
6. Flag Ponds Nature Park, Lusby, Maryland
7. Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
8. Eleuthera Island, The Bahamas
9. Great Peconic Bay, Long Island, New York
10. Stinson Beach, California

When Did Collecting Begin?

Aristotle – 4th century B.C.
- Wrote about mollusk behavior and anatomy in his History of Animals – 332 B.C.

What Am I Really Collecting?

Abandoned mollusk vehicles, traps, and homes – conchs, welks, etc.
- Made of calcium carbonate
- Secreted by the mantle of the mollusk

Echinoderms – sand dollars, sea stars
- Slow or no moving calcium bodies with tube feet

What Is a Conscientious Sheller?

If you take a reasonable amount of shells without animals living inside and do not permanently disturb the habitats of mollusks, you do not adversely affect the shell population. Thus, you are a conscientious sheller who follows practices that are environmentally sound and respect the rights of other shellers to collect specimens.

Why Is Shelling Fun?

1. Who doesn't like going to the beach?
2. It can involve the entire family from older preschoolers who know not to digest shells through grandparents who bring chairs or stools to rest from shelling now and then.
3. It combines the thrill of the hunt with appreciation of the beautiful shapes and colors of nature.
4. It can become a "seriously friendly" competition between participants.
5. It doesn't harm anyone since the animals have already vacated their shells when we collect them.

What is Shelling?

The best definition to describe it for our purposes is:

Shelling is the act of
viewing, inspecting, and gathering seashells
on or near a beach.

What Is a Shell?

This definition is the best one I've seen.

"The shell is the outer skeleton of the soft-bodied mollusk…composed of calcium carbonate, a common component of the mineral salts in seawater."

from Shells: Treasures of the Sea by Leonard Hill
Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc. 1996, p. 67