Seashells

Anadara trapezia (Mud Ark, Ark Cockle) Ark cockles (Ark Shells) are both marine and estuarine, preferring estuarine tidal flats and seagrass beds. They range from Fraser Island on the southern Queensland coastline, southward through southern coastal waters. They grow...

Patro australis These bivalves attach themselves to hard objects, usually rocks, sometimes other shells, by means of threads (byssus) that extend from a hole in the lower valve. The upper valve is concave, while the lower is flatter. The shell is...

Pyrazus ebeninus (Mud Whelk) Pyrazus ebeninus (Club or Mud Whelk) ranges from northern Queensland to Lakes Entrance, Victoria. Found in large numbers on muddy estuarine flats. Collected by the crew of the Endeavour in 1770. Large, elongate, turreted shell to 90mm with...

Bulla ampulla (Bubble Snail) Bulla is a genus of gastropod molluscs, the only member of the family Bullidae which is the only member of the superfamily Bulloidea. The genus consists of herbivorous marine snails belonging to the headshield slugs of the suborder...

Vepricardium multispinosum (A Heart Cockle) Cardiidae are one of the largest and best-known bivalve families with over 200 living species and many more fossil forms. Characterised by strong, compact, completely symmetrical and equal sized heart-shaped valves. This...

Phalium areola (Checkerboard Bonnet) Cassidae are large or medium size shells characterised by a thickened and recurved outer lip forming a prominent helmet-like rim. There are eighty or more living species in warm waters around the world.Often washed up on sandy...

Cucullaea labiata (Hooded Ark) CUCULAEIDAE is another family of Ark Shells, alongside the ARCIDAE in the superfamily ARCAEA in the order ARCOIDA. This bivalve is large, ovate-quadrate, very inflated shell. Numerous fine radial riblets. Strong but thin shell. Brownish...

Cypraea tigris (Tiger Cowrie) Deeply polished, attractive shells, much collected. In life, two lobes of the animal's mantle extend out and over the shell, meeting at midline, continually depositing enamel and protecting the shell from abrasion. Well developed teeth...

Donax deltoides (Eugary, Pipi) Donax deltoides is the local edible food and bait pipi of the Queensland and NSW beaches, adults reach lengths of 60 mm. The shell is strong, and can range from bluish-white, to golden yellow (goldies) or dark purple (known as blacks)....

Peronella leseuri (Sand Dollar) Not a shell at all, in fact an entirely separate phylum of animals, though their skeletons are collected among shells when washed up on beaches. This phylum appeared in the early Cambrian Period and contains about 7,000 living species...

Fusinus colus (Distaff Spindle Whelk) Spindles are carnivorous, usually feeding on bivalves and other snails. They are characterised by a long, slender anterior canal. A pretty shell often photographed, common, often sold in shell collections. Photo: Robert Whyte...

Glycymeris holosericus? Glycymeridae have thick, compressed shells more or less circular and symmetrical. They have an arched hinge with teeth, similar to Ark shells. Photo: Robert Whyte

Janthina janthina (Common Violet Snail) The Family Janthinidae includes some 30 Species of pelagic Gastropods, that live floating in open sea. The shell is light, transparent and blue, with no operculum. The Violet Snail Janthina janthina is often found washed ashore...

Bembicium nanum (Striped-Mouth Conniwink) Littorinid molluscs colonise the upper limits of the littoral zone. They can survive very long time out of the water in a very wide range of temperatures and salinities. Most littorinid molluscs have thick walled,...

Mactra contraria (Contrary Mactra) Mactridae, also known as surf or trough shells or duck clams, is a family of marine bivalve clams of the order Veneroida.Moderately thick, triangular in outline. Trough clams resemble eugaries, but more triangular. white to...

MURICIDAE (Rock Shells) Thais orbita, Cart Rut, or White Rock Shell, is a gastropod endemic to southern Australia and the North Island of New Zealand. It is found intertidally and is quite common on rocky ground, both in sheltered waters and on the open coast. Its...

Polinices incei (Flat Sand Snail) The sand snails are common in intertidal sand and mud flats, where they plough through the sand or mud, on or just below the surface, leaving a broad trail behind them. They are carnivorous, feeding mainly on bivalves; they drill a...

Nerita atramentosa (Black Nerite) Black outside, pellucid blue-white inside. Mouth opening is a half-circle. Ranges from the littoral fringe down to low tide extremes. Nerita ca breathe in damp air. Feeds on algae and organic debris with its strong, broad radula. Is...

Cellana Radiata (Radiate Patellid Limpet) Most true limpets live intertidally or in the shallow subtidal, down to the depth light penetration allows the micro-algal growth upon which they feed. Could be C. turbator. Hard to tell. Photo: Robert Whyte

Pecten fumata (Scallop) Scallops are bivalve molluscs with a central adductor muscle, larger and more developed than that of oysters because they are active swimmers. Scallops are a popular type of shellfish in both Eastern and Western cooking. Overfishing of sharks...