Maddie

One of the best #shell finding days of 2023!! I found my one and only glossy Humphey's Cowrie (Palmadusta humphreysii) - it looks beautiful in that Pink Lace Coral (Iodictyum phoeniceum): youtu.be/wpysZeNyuRU

#shells #beach #seashells #cowrie #cypraea #palmadusta #lacecoral #sandsnail #wingoyster

Shelling on Near Year's Day in 2023!! It was a nice way to start the year; lots of different kinds of shells to find: youtu.be/Dt0NjB2tGWk

#mancinella #drupe #semicassis #shells #shelling #seashell #scallop #cowries #urchins #pebbleurchin #fibularia #lacecoral #textilecone #beachcombing #funhobby

My second Geography Cone just weeks after the first... haven't found any more since then! From December 2022: youtu.be/0hU2fJ-i1-c

#coneshell #bonnetshell #phalium #conus #geographus #cymbiola #cypraea #cowrie #cowry #shells #seashells #shelling #beachcombing

Another shell collecting trip from December 2022: youtu.be/AIGDfoe0y9o and a few pictures of the beach as well. I take these pictures to create a thumbnail for the YouTube videos, but I always struggle a little with the small #microshells doubly-so a few years ago! Practice makes perfect. #cowrie

A #shelling trip from December 2022... some fun finds this time with a worn Textile Cone, Green-tinted Cowrie, and Brown-lined Paper Bubble: youtu.be/eiaJE5oKtEM

#conustextile #cypraea #hydatina #drupa #phalium #shells #collecting #beach #queensland #erronea #subviridis #staphylaea #palmadusta

A few more shelling trips from December 2022. The beaches were starting to get picked over due to the summer school holiday crowds (December is summer here in Australia)

youtu.be/eSSKqoaIt2A
youtu.be/-myR0VrpDVE

#wentletrap #cypraea #shells #shelling #triton #monoplex #moonsnail #nerite #conus

This was when I still collected a lot of broken shells and worn shells... still, I think I might always collect a Geography Cone! My first time finding one in December 2022: youtu.be/6w0i58B4FWs

#volute #conus #geographus #cypraea #phalium #bonnetshell #shells #shelling #seashell #shell

Cavolinia uncinata: a type is "Sea Butterfly" that lives on the ocean's surface. Their shells washed up en masse in December 2022: youtu.be/v2ZgiuOUKcw I also found my first Butterfly Moon Snail!

#shelling #shell #seabutterfly #cavolinia #jarofshells #beachcombing #natica #naticariu #alapapilionis

Huh, I guess even the conchologists got fed up with it! Ahh, it's good to know the current systems, but just "Conus" is fine for me as well :)

Haha yeah, it made things simpler! Luckily I started learning after most of the genus names had changed, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered learning them! I can't be bothered learning the new Conus ones though.

What an incredible shell genus!

Ohh what kind of cowrie is that live one?

I don't often find a mostly-intact tun shell! This one is possible a Partridge Tun (Tonna perdix)? From December 2022: youtu.be/FWhN_cUQejU

#shells #tonna #tunshell #coral #seashells

A few fun days of #shelling in November 2022.

youtu.be/LM-Tpr0n0vw
youtu.be/uJ8-bLkiTtY
youtu.be/f4dpR4jtsWk

#shells #arabiancowrie #cowrie #scallop #seashells #shelldisplay #beachvibes #queensland #australianshells

Interesting to see: these #shells are all Arabian Cowries... but one is particularly dark on the base! This early find is still my avatar on YouTube?? It's been a while since I've updated it!

#arabiancowrie #cypraea #cowrie #mauritia #mauritiaarabica

Another day of firsts; I think I was too pleased to care about how beach worn they were - I was still in my "new to #shelling" phase of collecting. An Anatomical Murex and Nicobar Spindle washed up after a storm. From October 2022: youtu.be/J2Q1_hpzoTM

#murex #homalocantha #anatomica #shells

I still remember this wet day in October 2022 - my one and only Sieve Cowrie find! youtu.be/YWx3gJpSN4U

#cypraea #cribrarula #cribraria #limpet #conus

I think all beachcombers go through an initial phase of collecting old and broken #shells... it took me a while to grow past that stage! Even so, I got a few very respectable shells this time: three Textile Cones and a Zigzag Cowrie. From October 2022: youtu.be/RvTIi6wjHJg

#ziczac #conustextile

This one went to a friend in South Carolina on the other side of the world; a Nicobar Thorny Oyster (Spondylus nicobaricus) that's grew some red coral on it before (or after?) becoming beach-worn. From September 2022: youtu.be/63cpDmxNBY8

#spondylus #thornyoyster #oyster #seashell

A #shell finding trip from October 2022. Notable mention to the nice Arabian Cowrie and Zebra Volute in the center. It's on YouTube too: youtu.be/AQDAO3VBLww (keep in mind that it's an old video... I get slightly better in more recent ones!)

#cypraea #amoria #seashells #mauritia

Possibly? I did watch a documentary about how dye is made from those Murexes... something about extracting an organ from the snail, so I'm not sure if the shell itself would somehow be coated with the colour? Still, it's as good an explanation as any! Thanks Stephan~

Very unusual! This Spengler's Trumpet (Cabestana spengleri) was deep purple in the interior part of the shell?? I'm glad I photographed it; it quickly turned to the usual white color after I took it home. I've never seen another purple on (empty or alive) since then. #shell #purple #seashell

Cowries from a beach visit in September 2022. I love the big Arabian Cowrie, as well as the Spotted Deer Cowrie. Around them are a collection of other shells: youtu.be/rbtUtounTw4

#cypraea #lyncina #mauritia #arabica #cowries #shelling #shells

This one is from #coolumbeach - a Lamellose Wentletrap (Gyroscala commutata) that was particularly large at around 32mm. The shelling video is here: youtu.be/h5GJGU7UJ0Y (keep in mind that it's an old one, and I do get better at video making with time)

#wentletrap #seashell #shell #shelling

More pictures from a perfect day at Noosa National Park. Did you know that it's actually totally legal to collect shells from National Park in Queensland? Yep, it falls under the Fisheries Department: any empty shell below the high-tide line is fine to take. Still, no shells here expect periwinkles.

No seashells at #noosa - just packed beaches during the warmer days! What a stunning place, but also a bit of a tourist trap on Hasting Street... just beyond that is Noosa National Park, just stunning.

Not too much for find at #mudjimbabeach in September 2022. I think this was my shortest full shelling adventure? youtu.be/Wmdpc7dSoI0my (this is an old episode, I do become a little better at video making over the years)

#bonnet #phalium #scallop #pecten #beach #shells #beachcombing #Queensland

I make #shell displays after each of my adventures... this one from August 2022 was the first I thought actually looked good - how about that!! youtu.be/d9jrYIbztrA

#shells #seashell #beachcombing #moonsnail #cowrie #cypraea #coneshell #coral #scallop #shelling

PS this is from August 2022

I love this place on the #sunshinecoast in Queensland, Australia. This was just before #sunrise - it silhouetted that iconic #lighthouse up on the headland.