The last few weeks, most of the collectible shells have only been found by getting in the water with methodical toe combing skills. I like to get in the water too but my favorite way to shell is to comb the beach searching with my eyes to find something different. So I was very happy to see a nice line of shells on the beach near the Sanibel pier at Lighthouse Beach. Ahhh. Finding a few of my faves always makes me so happy. I know it doesn’t look like it but that shell to the left of the BABY EAR is a SLIPPER SHELL. It was just so long and skinny, I had to pick it up. When I get time, I’m gonna do  whole post on SLIPPER SHELLS. It’s amazing how may different ones there are.
Clark found this gorgeous juvie TRUE TULIP. I couldnt resist snapping a photo!
It’s a good thing we were happy with our finds because we might have been green with envy thinking we missed a JUNONIA rolling around out there. It’s shocking to see so many JUNONIAS being found lately! It’s like Sanibel is having a JUNONIA-PALOOZA! Lori from Chicago has been looking for this shell since she was a little girl and she finally found it the place we were searching just a day before…. but she found it this morning at the Sanibel Pier. Congratshellations Lori! It’s a beauty!
But wait! Two days ago, Shelling Sistah Corly Brooke found one too! She found hers on Cayo Costa. You look so good in that shirt holding that JUNONIA, Corly!
Congratshellations to both of you!
Wish I was there with you guys!! Have a great safe time!!
Omgoodness, next year I am going to try to make it to Sanibel, need one of those t-shirts to go along with the junonia I am going to find! Hopefully, and yes you are def having a junonia pallooza there for sure! Wish I could be there now!
Yes, it’s junonia cornucopia time!
Oh, I also wanted to say that when there are lost of pen shells on the beach:
1. It is possible to find a dark pearl in a fresh dead pen shell if you are prepared to look in dozens of them, although the idea of groping around inside that soft dead tissue is pretty revolting, even with surgical gloves on! But maybe some brave person would be immune to smells and want to try it.
2. I am as sure as I can be that as well as Atrina rigida, there is also Atrina seminuda present on Sanibel. Trish Hartmann’s nice little book on Florida bivalves shows the difference between the two species very well. Pam, if you want to know more about the difference, send me an email. It would be great to get that 3rd species of pen shell onto Jose’s illustrated database… so we need someone to find and take in to the museum a good specimen or two of what we htink is Atrina seminuda for him to look at and confirm.
Can you please email me the notes you have on this and I will look for this species when I am on Sanibel in Feb. Thanks!!
OK, sent you some notes.
I will be on the hunt Susan! I love to have something new to look for!
If they are there to be found (which I am almost certain they are) then you will find them Pam!
From what I understand, it is not very easy to tell the two similar species apart, but… I think it can be done once you have your “eye” in.
In fact I would be sure there are literally dozens of species that live off of Sanibel that are not yet on Jose’s list. Most of them will be very small things, but a few of them will be large, like this 3rd species of pen shell.
Newbie to the site, but have been a stooper and toe digger since ’84. I’ve always wondered why I’d see people taking buckets of pen shells – since they are no Junonias :) – so thanks for your comment as I had no clue there could be a pearl inside. My question is how can I tell it is ‘dead’ vs. exposed? Given as I could see a fine line with the live shelling law on this one… Look for a stink? Thanks, any tips would be great!
Unlike a fighting conch, which is fine once it is put back in the water, any pen shell that is cast up on the beach is either already dead or very soon to be dead.
Live pen shells live at or below the lowest tide level, deeply embedded in the sand, with only the very top of their shell protruding from the sand. They have something called a byssus, a big bunch of threads that anchors them in place.
Once a pen shell has been uprooted and cast up onto the beach, even if you put it back in the water it would not survive.
I so wish I could be there to comb the beaches with you! I find it totally fascinating that each different beach and every new day brings a whole new world to explore on Sanibel. I don’t think I would ever get tired of living there and walking the shore each day! You are so lucky and lovely to share this “magic” with all of us. Thank you, Pam. You are one Shell of a lady! LOL
I agree 100%! :)
WOW!! I hope there are more junonias rolling around out there! We will arrive a week from today!!
There are always one or two more, but you have to be in the right place at the right time. Good luck Sheri Zipp, I hope you find one!
Thank you, Susan! Maybe I’ll even dig around in some pens shells looking for black pearls!!
I didn’t realize you could find pearls in pen shells. I am learning lots of new information from your blog Pam.
I am also glad that I fould your blog. Thanks for all the info.
We are arriving in December for our annual visit-hope they are still surfacing then as every year we hunt for the famous Junonia! Can’t wait!
Congrats to Lori and Corly! I remember when they used to post photos of people that found a junonia on the beach. So now I wonder if it’s possible that they have moved their colonies into shallower water… Or, are they growing in numbers? Or, are the red tides killing them – no, I dont like that one…. Or, have they always been rolling in more than some of us thought, but Pam’s blog is making us aware of their prevalence. All I know is that I ever find one, I’ll be doing one very happy jig!
Ooo, a pearl in a pen shell, wouldn’t that be the calicoes pajamas to find!
I think that all these junonias are showing up partly because of Hurricane Isaac, which must have stirred everything up like crazy, and pushed shells in towards the beach from very deep water.
Also I am sure you are right Sanibelle: Pam and her blog are getting better and better known all round, and so maybe more people are telling her about their finds and more of people’s special finds are being shown on her blog.
I would LOVE to find a black pearl in a pen shell! But I don’t think I could bear the smell of poking around in all the dead ones in order to find that pearl. But I read that the pearls are not that rare if you go through a bunch of pen shells. Most of the pearls are mall, but it would still be greta to find one! Maybe the trick is to get to the pen shells as soon as they wash up, before they even start to get smelly. :)
Congrats to everyone….just awesome.
Congrats to all who found a Junonia!! Now please step aside & let me find mine…heehee! I’m coming down to hunt in a week Monday & can’t wait. I hope I meet you all down there!
Happy Junonia hunting!
Pam, slipper shells are the most common up here on the shores of New England , those & pretty rocks. I’ll have to bring you some of ours down for you!!
Slipper shells – there are so many – and they make you THINK you’re picking up something REALLY cool….my husband says he’s going to figure out something I can MAKE with slippers since they are so prevalent.
And about those “J’s” – hope they hold out until November when we come down! Wow…..
I never get tired of seeing your photos of shelling along those beautiful beaches, Pam!!! Counting the days til I can return and do some shelling of my own! :)
xoxo laurie
Wow!! COngrats to the two lucky finders. I know mine is out there somewhere.
They must be washing up a lot as a woman found a mint 4 incher here on the beaches of Longboat Key. Next low tide I am there for sure!
Thanks ever so much Pam.
Blessings & joy to you all.
I am so happy I found this blog. I’ve been shell collecting for years but for a while, I didn’t do so much of it and found I got rusty with my shell identification. This site has helped me a lot. Hopefully soon, my husband and I can take a ride over to the west coast and go to Sanibel for some serious shelling.
Since he’s married me last year, he has found an appreciation for the beach and shell collecting. It’s a nice way to spend time together, being outdoors and in the sunshine.
Ellen
He’s very lucky and so are you! There’s no place like the beach! :)
Congratulations to all on the great finds! Oh how I wish we were there….
Such nice shells. I was wearing my “I love shelling” tee shirt the other day and thinking of you and Sanibel. I miss being there.
Me too. I wear mine here in NYC sometimes, and so far no-one has said anything, but I know sooner or later I will run into another ILoveShelling fan, even here in Manhattan!
Beautiful, I am jealous!
I feel so blessed of have found not only the Junonia, but this page/blog as well. When I found the special shell, I couldn’t believe it, and asked a lady on the pier if she knew if it was truly a Junonia – just to be sure because I couldn’t believe my eyes. She said OMG Yes and told me to post on I Love Shelling. When I found the shell, I was thinking of my Mom and Dad who have passed, and how they loved to hunt for shells on Sanibel. I said out loud – “Mom and Dad, if you want to send me an undeniable sign that you are around me, then help me find a Junonia.” I said it a bit sarcastically. Like ‘yeah, right.’ Ha. And 15 minutes later I saw a point sticking up from the sand in the very shallow water- I thought it was a tulip and pulled it up, and there it was! I was quite emotional and overwhelmed, but now know for sure that my parents’ spirits live strong and free on Sanibel. Looking forward to many more years of going to that oh so special place. And getting my shell fix from reading the wonderful stories here during the cold Chicago winter. This is a great support group. LOL! :)
Oh Lori, what a touching story..thank you for sharing it with us!!
Oh Lori,
Got chills reading your story, thank you for sharing this special day with us!! You are blessed!!
Happy hunting,
Mary Ann
CT
I will be down in one week, yippeee
Good luck and enjoy that beautiful place. I can’t wait to go back! :)
Lori, your Junonia find made my eyes mist and also brought a huge smile. I don’t know if you are new to this WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC blog, but if you go back to January of this year you will see that my husband Ken had a very similar experience to you with a recently departed loved one and finding a Junonia at the Light House. We have always loved the Light House beach and with each new story/experience we hear, we are reminded of just how truly special it is.
Hi Sue. I will definitely check out the post from January! Yes I am new to this blog and already love the community. It will certainly keep me warm through those snowy days until I can get my toes in the sand again. A special place – no question! Hurricanes come and go but the island, the people and the magic are still intact. Thanks for the smiles!
Very cool Corly, great find, great day.
Thank you Captain Brian! It was such a wonderful coincidence to have you as our guide and to find my first junonia after years of searching. So happy to share it with you. And I loved the baby’s ears, little scotch bonnet, apple murex, venus sunray clams, whelks, fighting conchs, banded tulips, and SO many more. The tiny tusk shell was new to me. Thanks also for being so kind to my friend Sue – her first shelling trip to Cayo Costa and she can’t stop talking about it! We are both shellabrating our October birthdays in fine style!!
It was good to read Lori’s touching story about her parents. My parents also introduced me to shelling on Sanibel many, many years ago. We always talked about the “Sanibel magic” that makes beautiful things happen. Seems their spirits were leading us to our beautiful finds!