Colors of the Sea
Brilliant reds, oranges, yellows and purples have painted the shoreline of Sanibel this weekend with sponges, seaweed and SEA URCHINS. If you’ve seen my last posts, you’ve seen that there have been thousands of SEA URCHINS washed up on our beaches.
Brilliant sea orange and purple
Most of the SEA URCHINS have already lost their spines which exposes the shell called a test. When they dry in the sun for a short time, they turn a gorgeous color purple. They are all beginning to look like this…
Purple Sea urchin
Did you know that a SEA URCHIN caused human fertility research to begin in 1875? Sounds crazy, huh? It’s true. This past summer, I found this fact when I was designing my notecard line Write From The Beach and painted a SEA URCHIN. I started digging for information to put with my illustration to add a little twist using FunFacts. I found out that German biologist Oskar  Hertwig was able to witness the fertilization of SEA URCHIN eggs for the very first time in history. This revelation on any egg fertilization was due to the transparency of these eggs. An “aha moment” as Oprah would say. (click on the bolded link for whole story)
My Sea Urchin Note Card
Sea Urchin on the beach
Paper Fig on beach
There are also lots of PAPER FIG shells on the beach now too.
Inhabited Paper Fig
This was the first FIG shell that I’ve ever seen with the original animal still in it. FIGS don’t have an operculum (trap door) so it was hard to tell if he was still alive or not but I put him back in the water just in case. This is one of Clark’s faves so he found a few empty ones to bring home.
Paper Fig seashells
Just in case you didn’t know what an OPERCULUM was… it’s that brown oval-ish trap door or lid in the opening of the shell that seals itself inside its shell. It looks like this…
Operculum found on the beach
This is what it looks like when it is still being useful to it’s owner….
Live Horse Conch
Do you know what the orange and red thing is at the top of the picture from 12/20?? Is it coral?
It’s a sponge just like the two orange ones in the second picture. They were just so brilliant- so pretty. There were so many different ones…. like my pictures of dead man fingers last month. It’s fun to see such different stuff!
Rowena… I think that is a soft coral… but that’s a guess.
Great pictures of all the colors Pam… I’m headed back out to Sand Key this evening to see what the Gulf has dropped off for us up here today.
Lookin forward to my next visit down to Sanibel on the 17th next month… hope I find a few more fig shells myself – they’re so delicate… also gotta get a few more tiny horse conchs… I’ve never found those up here yet.
Once again, I am amazed at the bounty of the sea! So many beautiful treasures!
~Amanda
What beautiful compositions!
That big horse conch is absolutely gorgeous!! Wouldn’t it be fun to find one without the animal?
Lee
Hi Lee! Yes it would…. Especially that color!
We found bunches at Tarpon Bay Beach last year but all were occupied!
I have photos and a video if someone knows how I can post them..
Hi Pam,
The last time I was at Barefoot Beach in Bonita, I literally stumbled over a huge Horse Conch when I was chest deep in the water. I picked him up and he was heavy, ran to the shore, set him down in the shallow surf and watched this enormous bright pink guy come out. It was amazing to watch!! Usually bright colors signal danger in nature, so I was careful. I ran to get my camera just 15 feet away, I came back and he had disappeared!! I didn’t know if they can motor that fast or if he quickly shimmied down into the sand, but he was nowhere to be found. How often do you come across live Horse Conchs?
Love the photos, love your Blog, merry merry Pam!!
Deb
It’s not that often that I come across them that big… so it’s always exciting when you do. They are soooo colorful, aren’t they? Amazing. But hmmmmm…. they don’t move that fast. I’ve seen them flip themselves but not move in a direction quickly. Maybe the surf and/or current took him back out. They can roll in the surf and disappear quickly but they don’t even dig themselves under the sand quickly either. I’d say a wave washed him away or another person came along and picked him up to take him back in the water. Merry, Merry to you too Deb!
Wowza. and wowza again! Really beautiful pics, Pam. Mother Nature sure has been generous lately. With the full moon and low tides coming up I can’t wait to see what you find the next couple of days! (5 days and counting and salivating to boot!)
Say Pam…any chance there will be some purple sea urchins left on Saturday? If not, I’d love it if you could scoop up a couple for me, if you don’t mind. I know I ask alot of you. They are just so darn pretty! Thanks. Looking forward to meeting you on the beach! Got my shirt ready!
No Problem! I’d be glad to….. there are plenty now but who knows about Saturday.
THANKS!
So that’s what that thing (operculum) is called! I knew where it came from but had a hard time explaining it to people. I’ve used it in my shell art. Thanks, Miss Pam!
That first pic is so beautiful!
Oh, the colors are just beautiful!!… love your photos, and the place you call home!…
Dear Pam, you made a really unique pictures. The colors are so real, bright and beautiful! I can imagine the shore line of Sanibel even in cold New York. I don’t have opportunity to stay with you but your photos get me involve. I use all of these, not alive organisms in my seashell art works, but usually never can pick them up personally. Thank you very much for your pictures. Hope see you soon.
Pam,
I just found your site a few days ago. I am coming in on the 26th. I would love to meet you while I spend a week there. I am a shell and shark tooth freak. I just pray I can find the new sandbar when I get there. I have only been to Sanibel once and got to stay 2 days. This is our Christmas Vacation. Do you ever find shark teeth there? If not I would love to bring some to share with you. I will be staying at the Pointe Santo condos. Your pictures have me praying that there will be some good stuff when I get there. Any information you can give me about other good places to look would be appreciated. Hope to get to see you. Susan
Welcome, Susan! We don’t find that many shark’s teeth on Sanibel…. or maybe they are just hidden by the shells…. but you’ll be happy to know they aren’t very far away. Check out my posts about shark’s teeth at http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/?s=sharks+teeth . Send me a message through Seashell Email (the contact form) if you know where you’ll be on a certain day, maybe I can meet you on the beach.
What great early Christmas gifts your getting! Hope to be back by New Years so have a Merry Christmas down there and keep the posts coming so I know what I’m missing. Enjoy.
I’d like to think that this is the most beautiful post I’ve seen, thus far. I love the bright, fiery coral? Sea whips? I thought they were painted or dyed at first, but it’s awesome to know that this is natural! The ocean is the most amazing thing ever.