It’s a special day for any beach comber to walk along the shore to uncover an ANGEL WING in the sand just waiting to be found. It’s feels like a sign of good things to come. In Southwest Florida, it’s very unlikely to find an ANGEL WING with both sides still together with that little connector piece called a MESOPLAX (an accessory plate connecting the two valves) still intact but I’ve been lucky enough to find this one.
It’s been on my mind to show you more about these special shells since I showed you this photo of Brenda’s ANGEL WINGS she found 2 weeks ago at Bunche Beach, remember?
She also found this cool little STRIATE PIDDOCK…
After seeing this unusual shell, I knew I wanted to find out more about the ANGEL WING family (Pholadidae -if your are the scientific type) and thought you might be interested too…yes, it’s the same family as the ANGEL WING! It has a MESOPLAX as well and she found them with it still in place…
Here are some of my ANGEL WING type shells together so you can see the difference between all of them. The ANGEL WING on the left is 4 inches. The STRIATE PIDDOCK is an inch and 1/4, the FALSE ANGEL WING is about the same size (1 and 1/4 inches). Then the MUD PIDDOCK is an inch and 3/4.
We have found these MUD PIDDOCKS on North Captiva and Cayo Costa but I dont think I’ve ever found a pair together so I only have the one side to show you. They look similar to an ANGEL WING but with a pointy top. BTW- Steve R reminded that these are commonly called FALLEN ANGEL WINGS. Don’t you wonder how “they” came up with “Fallen”? Is it because it looks like when this Angel Wing fell from the sky, it got smushed on the top corner? Hmmmmm. However it got it’s name, I like that much better than calling it a MUD PIDDOCK… so from now on, I’m referring to these with the much cuter name of “FALLEN ANGEL WING”.
Believe it or not, this next one is really called the FALSE ANGEL WING because it’s more closely related to the SUNRAY VENUS than the “true” ANGEL WING. Huh? This looks way more like the ‘TRUE’ ANGEL WING then that STRIATE PIDDOCK does! Oh well, even though its “FALSE” it’s still an ANGEL WING to me. Im sure you’ve seen these in posts after we go to Cayo Costa on our iLoveShelling Adventures. We have lots of them there!
Notice the interior of FALSE wings are very different from the TRUE wings…
So now you can see the difference between the ANGEL WING, FALLEN ANGEL WING and the FALSE ANGEL WING and the STRIATE PIDDOCK. Maybe we should just call the last one (striate piddock) a “WOOD WING” since they bore into wood? I vote for that! Anyway, arent they all beautiful in their own way? Okay, I have to confess- I’ve seen ANGEL WING written as one word and also two words… I’m going with 2 words- like it’s an Angel’s wing! Oh yeah, I’ve also seen it written “ANGLE” WING too heehee. Anyway, here are all four of them again to send you good luck as well.
Love learning more about my hobby…very informative post Pam :-)
One of my favorite shells.
Donnie
I wish the angel wings up here in CT were as bright and sturdy as yours appear to be!
Really gorgeous pics Pam!
The “false angel wing” looks so much like the other angel wings because, unlike most clams, it does not simply burrow in sand, it can also often (mainly?) live by boring into somewhat harder surfaces, like the angel wings do. Therefore it has to have a narrow shell with that rough sculpture for boring.
It is an East Coast species, but it has also been accidentally introduced into Britain and the West Coast of the US too.
Favorite shell of mine…the Angel Wings are just so amazing! Thank you, Pam, for sharing some more educational info on this wonderful shell and it’s “cousins”.
Many years ago I found two intact angel wings in the mudflat south of the bridge that joins Sanibel & Captiva. Both had the animal in it but they were dead. I know they live deep in the mud flats and still wonder what caused them to be on the surface.
After cleaning them I was amazed at the beauty of these shells.
I finally got my first pair of angel wings with the Mesoplax on our (your) last shelling trip in June to Cayo Costa! They were small but perfect! remember…when our daughter Jess got all the false angel wings in the pete there?? I have them mounted in a shadow box with a set of false wings…would post here but don’t know how….I’ll put it on your facebook!! Hubby and I found some singles at Bunche beach last week. have never found the Piddocks that gives us something else to look for!!…I, like you, love them all! Thanks for the information!
Love the angel wings-wish I could find a pair! The first time I found a mud piddock, I thought it was a deformed angel wing. Then you posted a picture of the piddock. Yes I like seeing what people on finding on the beach every day, but I enjoy your educational posts too. I hope your treatments are going well and your kitties are enjoying your company during the day. Thanks for all you do Pam.
Pat
Thank you, I learn so much with your posts!
Great pics. Enjoyed learning more details about yet another species of shells. Thank you Pam
we call those “mud piddocks” fallen angel wings, they actually live in clay and peat, moreso than mud. years ago on a clamming boat the captain picked a wrong spot to dredge, “mud haul”! , dredge bogged down in thick mud, when they pulled it up the mesh part had all these mud piddocks on them that had “bit down” (closed their shells or otherwise got stuck) on the mesh.
best place to find striate piddock is in driftwood, they live in burows and tunnels in soft wet wood. I have found logs washed up in Texas with hundreds of them living inside.
Thank you Steve! Omigosh! You are so right! They ARE called Fallen Angel Wings. I used to call the “false” angels the “fallen” ones by mistake and then I never got used to calling the “mud” the fallen wings. Oh my- did that make sense? Anyway- thank for reminding us. I sure like “fallen angel wing” better than “mud piddock”! hahaha
I added it to my post! And about the striate piddock, yes, I even tried to find the big driftwood pile Brenda said she found them by at Bunche Beach but couldnt find it (or any more striates). Since I added “fallen” to my post, I made up a new name for the Striate Piddock (who wants to say that too many times????)- it’s now the Wood Wing to me. LOL :) whaddadya think? Much easier?
one more thing about fallen angel wing..the animal has a HUGE siphon for reaching the surface of the mud, as the shell itself is buried deep in the mud. the siphon is much bigger than the shell. itself.
Hi Pam!
This is a great post. Now I truly know the difference between all the wings!
The pictures inside and out were extremely helpful, made me say “Oh yes I see the differences for sure”.
Mr. & Mrs. Joe Star will be arriving tomorrow morning in Sanibel.
This will be our “Maiden Voyage” for coming to Sanibel at this time of the year! (for our anniversary. )
I understand it’s rainy and hot, but guess what, who cares!!! We are outta Dodge until nest week! Hahaha!
Got to love my play on the words!
I have a basket full of (what I thought were Angle Wings). Maybe I have a lot of “falsies” in there!!!! I love the little ones even if they aren’t the real thing. I will just keep on lovin them!!!!
Can’t wait to find my first Angel wing…! Thank you for explaining the differences Pam.
Thank you for showing the difference between Angel and False Angel Wings! I couldn’t figure that out, and I’ve been reading this blog for a while. Seeing them together did the trick.
Very nice presentation. I love the Angel Wings. They are soooo beautiful. They remind me of the song, “I’ll fly away”, which I hope to do some day, by and by. As for “Pholadidae”, you have come a long way, Pam. The Angel Wing family (aka Pholadidae) is found around the world. Murex Alice and I also found them in New Zealand. As for the Fallen Angel Wings, I have several pairs. If you like, I can bring a pair for you to photograph the next time we visit Sanibel.
Please! I’d love to borrow a pair to photograph and add to this post so we can all see both sides together. Thx