
The following excerpt was provided to us courtesy of the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, and is just one more story about the extraordinary shelling taking place on Sanibel beaches this winter. Our thanks to the Museum for sharing.
A Star was Born
More than one star was born on December 25th, the day that Christians from around the world celebrate the birth of their savior.
Nearly every day, avid shelling enthusiast, Jeff Oths, Assistant General Manager of the Sanibel Community House and Vice-President of the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club, walks along Lighthouse Beach. Angulate wentletraps bring a sparkle to Jeff’s eyes, quite appropriate since it’s a special pre-dawn glow that helps Jeff discover wentletraps at this location.
On Christmas Day Jeff received his first and most treasured Christmas gift before he ever made it to the Christmas tree. While walking at Point Ybel, digging through narrow piles of shells, Jeff spotted something that he knew right away was different. It was a star-shaped shell measuring about 22 mm in diameter. He poured through Florida shell guides, at first to no avail. Until a definitive identification could be made, it would be called “The Christmas Star.” Finally, turning the page one more time, he found a replica of his special Christmas gift. It was a long-spined star snail, a species generally found on other shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
A trip to The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum to visit with Dr. José H. Leal, Director/Curator of the Museum, revealed another exciting facet of his discovery. Dr. Leal concurred with Jeff’s identification and shared that not only had the shell never been documented on Sanibel, but it was the 300th named Sanibel shell to be added to the Museum’s data base. (http://shellmuseum.org/shells/shellspic.cfm)
So come on down to Ocean’s Reach and see what you might discover on our beautiful beaches!