I took a lovely walk at the lighthouse beach with my friend Susan S. this morning and pointed out a few sand trails leading to live LETTERED OLIVES …
Then she asked me what kind of shell was making this trail…
It looked just like an AUGER trail as I remembered those beautiful tracks I had photographed in 2010 then turned into “AUGER ART” . But I was wrong! It was a DWARF OLIVE. I wonder how many times I had seen them but had just assumed it was an AUGER. I know…never assume.
I like to call these tiny little OLIVES “RICE SHELLS” since they look like grains of rice. Here’s a short video of this live little cutie…
But wait! We saw more live shells. Robyn from Singapore (!) wanted to know what was coming out of this shell that was so bright orange. It’s a live HORSE CONCH! And all of that “orange stuff” is the live mollusk that made the shell….. and as I was explaining that, the animal squirted a stream of salty water at us. Ha!
She knew she couldn’t keep a live shell so she happily walked it out to the sand bar where she found it.
Thanks Pam , I love the little trails the shells make…wish i was there!
That shell and mollusk are gorgeous!
Great Video…I have seen some big olives cruising the sands around there lately.
That horse conch is Awesome…It looks like the same one I’ve walked back out to deeper waters a couple times in the last 2 months.
It’s great people from all over the world visit here.
Love the video–I’ve never seen a live olive!
I would give anything to find a horse conch like that. I like them better than junonias.
Beautiful live Olivellas!
Dwarf olive, rice olive?? What? I’ve never heard of them – only my beloved lettered olives. And the lighthouse is my stomping grounds. Honestly Pam, I learn something new from you at every post!
Pam,as you walk the beach today, know that we are getting our first snow of the year right now. Thought you might like to hear about it since I’m in Richmond, and you’re from Virginia Beach, right? It’s big beautiful snow globe flakes.
So cute!
Cool. I’m looking forward to 8 or 10 days of shelling the last wk of February – can’t wait. It’s going to be 17 degrees here tonight! (TN) Burrrrrrr….
Hi Pam! Thank you for being on the beach! i couldnt have run into a better person to ask! Yippee! Thanks too, to all your lovely readers comments on my special find! I’ve never found such a large shell before. Or seen such a beautiful Bright orange fella inside! It was thrilling. I actually found him quite close to shore, so I hope he made his way further out in the tide. I so adore Sanibel. I shall be back a couple more times this week! maybe I’ll see you there. I need to be more careful tho… I found hermit crab and a teeensy weensy (baby?) crab in the plastic bag when I got home. I put them out in a freshwater pond, so I hope they can survive….. See you out shelling! LOve Robyn (visiting from Singapore.)
I love olive tracks!!! Thanks Pam. Very cool.