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+--- Thread: What are these shells - and piece of coral? (/showthread.php?tid=1664)
What are these shells - and piece of coral? - Hanalei - 07-26-2012
Can anyone ID these shells for me? I couldn't find the names for any of them. The second picture is a piece of coral and a shell. I can't figure out what kind of coral, and I have no idea what kind of shell it is. Thanks!
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Re: What are these shells - and piece of coral? - paul monfils - 07-26-2012
Hi,
Do you know where these were collected? Florida perhaps? Locality is important because similar looking species often live in different geographic areas. And the fact that these shells are quite eroded makes definite identification that much more difficult. If you don't know where they are from, I'll give it my best shot, assuming Florida/Caribbean. Also, I don't see the second picture you refer to.
Paul M.
Re: What are these shells - and piece of coral? - Hanalei - 07-26-2012
They were from the Fort Myers Beach/Sanibel Island area of Florida. Here are both pictures:
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Also, the yellow shell and the orange shell look exactly alike but different colors, though it's a little hard to tell in the picture.Â
Re: What are these shells - and piece of coral? - paul monfils - 07-27-2012
In the first picture the two shells at the top, orange and yellow, look a lot like cockle shells (family Cardiidae) at first glance. The problem is, they don't have nearly the number of ribs that the Florida cockle shells have. Therefore I'm thinking that they may be pecten, or scalllop, shells that are badly worn and have the two thin "ears" broken off. The lighter colored one also has faint traces of a darker pattern like that of the Calico Scallop, Argopecten gibbus. So that's my best guess.
Center left is a species of the Venus Clam family, Veneridae, probably the Cross-Barred Venus or Cancellate Venus, Chione cancellata.
Center right is a definite Pecten (Scallop) shell, probably the Bay Scallop, Argopecten irradians. (Picture this upside down with the two triangular extensions removed, and you'll see what I meant regarding the two shells at the top).
Bottom is really just a shell fragment, not much to go on. Possibly a piece of a Zigzag Scalllop, Evola ziczac.
The shell in the other picture appears to be an oyster, probably the lower shell valve of a Virginia Oyster, Crassostrea virginica.
Can't help you with the coral, sorry. I know some of the hard corals, but this appears to be one of the many soft (flexible) corals, and I'm not very knowledgeable about them.
Re: What are these shells - and piece of coral? - Hanalei - 07-27-2012
"paul monfils"' Wrote:Bottom is really just a shell fragment, not much to go on. Possibly a piece of a Zigzag Scalllop, Evola ziczac.
Thanks for all of your help! That's far more than I would've been able to figure out.Â
That fragment, though, actually seems to be just about the entire shell. Based on the inside of it, it's almost a perfect circle - there's only one small-ish section missing.Â
Re: What are these shells - and piece of coral? - paul monfils - 07-27-2012
OK. Maybe a different view would help. The other side? Or an angled view? I can't really visualize its 3 dimensional shape from this shot.
Re: What are these shells - and piece of coral? - Hanalei - 07-27-2012
Does this help? The shell is very flat.
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Re: What are these shells - and piece of coral? - Orepaul87 - 08-28-2012
I think Paul has the fragmented comment correct. The circular marking in the center is the aductor muscle scar.
