Types Of Seashells And Seashell Collection

Seashells are available in hundreds of types. Even sometimes there can be countless amount of sea shells lying on the floor of the ocean. Some seashells are home to some living creatures where as others are vacant, waiting to be washed on to drying land.

Most of the types of sea shells can be found on almost every beach but the remaining ones are native to a certain part of the world. Every type of sea shell has its own characteristic and to know about the types of sea shells we first have to study those characteristics.

All of the types of sea shells are common in one aspect that they come from any specie which is of marine mollusk. The marine mollusk can be classified into four main classes and there are a number of types of mollusks in every class. All marine mollusks have shells but they are different in type which makes them unique.

Some sea shells are small while others are big. These sea shells come up to the surface of sandy beaches and shores when the mollusks inside them die.

However some changes occur on them in their journey towards land. These changes are mainly of the color and surface. Basically this is the main thing which discriminates these shells into various types as some of them have very smooth surface and are whiter than they were in the ocean.

Some of the types of sea shells are:

The height of this seashell is about 1.9-4.1 cm. It has low spire and is broadly conical. The color of this type of shell is yellowish brown with a whitish band at an angle. It’s covered with a thin brown colored periostracum which is finely fibrous.

Sand Dollar

It is a very common type of a sea shell. The marine creature inside it holds the same name i.e. sand dollar. These shells are also one of the most different types of sea shells too. They are flat and round and also have a bleached appearance.

Conch

This also is one of the most commonly found sea shells. It varies in the size of the shell greatly. Deep in the salt water a conch shell is a home to snail.

It’s famous and is appreciated, for its beauty and its sound, on land. It is vastly used as a musical instrument in various cultures of the world.

The conch shell can be further divided into:

• Florida Fighting Conch
  
  The height of this sea shell is 7-10.8 cm. It has thick surface. Its color can be yellowish to chestnut brown it can also have pale spots or zigzag stripes. This type of sea shell is more separated than others and is knobbed.
• Pink Conch
  
  This type of sea shell is approx 17.8-30.5 cm high. It is a large sea shell and is heavy in weight too. It is shaded in yellowish white color with irregular brownish markings. Fresh shells have a thin layer of periostracum which flakes off when the shell gets dry.

• Hawking conch
  
  This sea shell is about 4.4-11.4 cm high. Its shades are found to be brown or grayish with white spots that are irregular. Whorls of this sea shell are convex and slightly angled. This type of shells has strong body whorls and irregular spiral chords.

• Florida horse conch
  
  Florida horse conch is about 10.2-48.3 cm high. It is spindle shaped and is large having an elongated conical spire. It can be whitish yellow, orange or brown. It also has the thin brown layer of periostracum.

Cockle can also be said to be one of the most common types of sea shells. It is easily found on almost every beach of the world. It is enjoyed all around the world as a sea food dish.

There are two basic types of cockles which can be further classified into around two hundred more classes. They are smooth, rigid and almost likely to each other.