Remember — by all means, don’t be a landlubber.  Get into the water.  No matter whether you go shelling up North, down South, in the West or in the Tropics, you won’t get any satisfaction (or value) from collecting dead shells washed up on a beach.  To build a good collection, you should take your mollusks alive, then clean and prepare them yourself. (More about that later.) You won’t find live ones unless you go where they live.

[figure captions]

CONUS SPURIUS
“Alphabet cone”

CYRTOPLEURA COSTATA
“Angel wing”

TEREBRADISLOCATA
“Atlantic Auger”

Murex DILECTUS
“Lace murex”

EPITONIUM HUMPHREYSI
“HUMPHREY’S wentletrap”

LYROPECTEN NODOSUS
“Lion’s paw”

FASCIOLARIA DISTANS
“Banded Tulip”

DIODORA CAYENENSIS
“Keyhole limpet”

ANATINA PLICATELLA
“Channeled Duck”

WHERE TO LOOK*

Many shells are endowed with perfect camouflage.  The colorful seafans off Florida are hiding places for the SIMNIA whose long purple or yellow shells, clinging to sea fans and matching perfectly in color, are nearly indiscernible.  Other shells create disguises as they go along.  In Florida waters, a pile of dead and broken shells may be worth investigation:  XENOPHORA CONCHYLIOPHORA ("carrier shell”) might be under it; it cements the old, discarded shells to its own.  Northern tide pools accommodate many kinds of LITTORINA ("periwinkles").  These pretty little shells, in shades from yellow to brown, are well concealed among the dimly-lit seaweed.  Along any rocky shore, limpets grow as wide as two inches but remain hard to find.  Their turtleback shells, covered with moss, look just like rocks, and they stick so tightly to the big stones that—­even when they are seen—­they can scarcely be pried loose.

Abundant on wave-washed beaches of both the North and the South are dead shells of another perfectly camouflaged clam called Arca.  While alive, the shells are covered with hairy, brown or black epidermis and look like pebbles among tufts of seaweed and marine grass.

On the West Coast, the abalone is a most typical species in addition to being a delicious food.  The bright-hued shell is widely used for souvenirs such as ash trays and is in demand for buttons and decorative purposes.

Most shells of interest to the collector are found in the sea—­ but not all.  Living forest mollusks have been found 18,000 feet high in the Himalayas.  And in this country a great variety of mollusks live in rivers, ponds, and even hot springs.  Several species are peculiar to the Nile River.  Also, species of mollusks live on land—­for example the common garden snail.

Wherever you go, be it the South Seas, a mountain lake, or the shoals off the Gulf Coast, you’ll find shells to collect and opportunities to expand your hobby.