[ Previous Article ] - [ Articles ] - [ Next Article ]

Fins to Feather

by Scarlet Colley - November - 2002

Everyone wants to find a shell when they come to the beach. To take a pretty shell home will make a nice souvenir. But watch out. Sometimes that shell you find may be more than just a shell. Shells are the opposite of us. Our soft tissue is on the outside of our body while our bones are hidden inside. With shells it is just the opposite, with the soft tissue of the snail on the inside and the shell part is like our bones. When mammals die they leave their bones behind. When snails die they leave their shells behind hence the term shelling or looking for shells. Most of the shells have incredibly beautiful snails that live inside of them. The red-orange body of the Horse Conch and the velvety black body of the Texas State Shell the Lightning Whelk are beautiful to watch as they crawl thru the tanks at the Coastal Studies Lab that is located in Isla Blanc Park on South Padre Island. The spotted body of the Atlantic Hairy Triton and the light orange-pink body of the Banded Tulip shell are beautiful too as they wave their eyes around almost looking at you. Interesting shells to watch like the Fighting Conch wave its saber like foot around can keep one entertained as well.

In our years teaching marine life classes, Capt. George Colley and I have come to know so many of the shells and see them as live interesting creatures in a very interesting environment. Normally living in the wild, the live shells all have their echo-niche but in captivity they must all have their needs met. Because many of them are carnivorous and will even eat each other, they all have to be put in the proper aquariums. A Whelk will eat a Murex if they are in the same tank. The shell keeps growing bigger as the snail grows, very much like we do from infant to adult. The shells start out so tiny that it takes a microscope to see them in detail. They grow until they die and then their body is eaten by the predator that killed it or it is eaten by scavengers. If it is killed by a Sheller that wants its shell it is merely placed in a killing solution and the dead body is thrown away and the shell is cleaned to keep or make arts and crafts with. Personally we would rather see the live shell than kill one just to put on a shelf.

But if one is found empty then it is for the taking but watch out. Your dead shell could start walking around on you. This is nature’s way of recycling. In moves a Hermit Crab. Hermit Crabs are nature’s wonderful little creature that knows all about recycling. From the tiniest shell that dies in infancy, a baby hermit crab will move in. Then there is the dilemma of, as the crab grows, the shell doesn’t. So the crab merely looks around for another larger shell. We have watched the meticulous measuring and scrutinizing that a hermit crab goes thru to move into a new shell. It has to find the perfect one before it moves. Some hermit crabs like the Anemone Hermit Crab even carries around an Anemone on its shell to keep predators like the Octopus away. Octopus are very sensitive to the stinging cells of the Anemone and Octopus love to eat Hermit Crabs.

We raised a tiny Octopus at the Coastal Studies Lab that was about the size of a dime to full grown and he actually became quite a friend. Billy grew up on Hermit Crabs until he was big enough to feed on Blue Crabs. He lived the short two years that Octopus live at the lab and entertained and won the hearts of many people. When I would clean his tank he would gently hug my arm and hands. He would actually bring his head up out of the water when we would have school groups to teach and let me pet him. When he died of old age we lost a friend.

Having Hermit Crabs in the tanks at the Lab are important as they keep the bottom clean just like they do out in the bay and the gulf. They are natures Kirby’s and Hoover’s. Some Hermit Crabs like the Red Hermit Crab get quite large just like Sebastian at the lab. He is very picky about his shells. There is also a great display of shells at the Coastal Studies Lab representing the shells that are from this area. As we pick up shells that have died and marvel in their beauty, the snail that lived inside of it, now dead and gone, had to be an incredible creature to give us such a beautiful part of itself.

When Capt. George and I find live shells because we are out in their world so much of our day, we throw them into deep water hoping they may have a good life and not end up in the hands of a person that might kill it for its shell. But that is a matter of choice that we choose because we love the nature here and feel it is all wonderful and fascinating. Most people will choose to let a shell live if they find a live one or just take a few and let the rest live to grow and more importantly reproduce. Almost every child would rather see the snail alive than dead. Snails take years to grow up and reproduce and then many of their thousands of eggs and young will never reach maturity. The sea will yield souvenirs as its life dies. A walk along the beach will yield a little something for everyone. What joy it is to see a child find a shell but what a joy it is even more when that child sees the shell alive at the lab and is in wonder over this live creature. To see live shells visit the Coastal Studies Lab. Their hours are Sunday thru Friday 1:30 to 4:30 and there is no charge. However the County Park fee to drive thru to get to the Lab is $4.00. This money is used to keep our parks litter free.

[ Top ]