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Explore Tidal Keepsakes
Shells, beaches, guides, articles, curated collections, and coastal favorites — all in one editorial index.
24 results for “shells”
Shell Family · east-coast
Olive Shell
Glossy cylindrical gastropods of the family Olividae, including the lettered olive — South Carolina's state shell.
Shell Family · east-coast
Ark Shell
Sturdy, heavily ribbed bivalves of the family Arcidae — Florida beaches carry several species, including the striped turkey wing and the smaller ponderous ark.
Shell Family · east-coast
Auger
Long, slender, high-spired gastropods of the family Terebridae — the beachcomber's screw shell.
Shell · gulf-coast
Florida Horse Conch
Florida's official state shell and one of the largest gastropods in the Americas — a spindle-shaped predator that can exceed two feet in length.
Shell · east-coast
Shark Eye
A smooth, round moon snail whose glossy tan spiral gives it the distinctive dark 'eye' — one of the East and Gulf coasts' most-collected small shells.
Shell · east-coast
Lightning Whelk
A large sinistral (left-handed) whelk of the U.S. southeast, prized for the streaks of colour that run down its spire.
Shell · east-coast
Scotch Bonnet
Rounded helmet shell with a woven basket-check pattern — North Carolina's state shell.
Shell · gulf-coast
Junonia
A deep-water volute famous on Sanibel Island for its cream body and neat rings of chocolate spots.
Shell Group · east-coast
Whelk
A group of large predatory sea snails found along the U.S. east and gulf coasts, including knobbed, channelled, and lightning whelks.
Shell Family · east-coast
Scallop
Fan-shaped bivalves with radiating ribs and two ear-like auricles at the hinge — the family Pectinidae.
Shell · east-coast
Lettered Olive
South Carolina's state shell — a glossy cylindrical olive with fine zigzag markings that resemble handwriting.
Shell Family · east-coast
Moon Snail
Rounded, polished gastropods (family Naticidae) that leave the neat drilled hole on so many empty bivalves.
Shell Family · east-coast
Cockle
Heart-shaped ribbed bivalves (family Cardiidae) that form the classic 'valentine' outline when both valves are joined.
Shell Group · east-coast
Sand Dollar
Flattened burrowing echinoderms with the five-pointed 'flower' pattern on top — not a shell at all, but a sea urchin test.
Shell · gulf-coast
Florida Fighting Conch
A compact, heavy-bodied true conch of the U.S. southeast — Florida's most reliably found strombid on Gulf beaches.
Shell · east-coast
Calico Scallop
A small, brightly mottled Gulf and Atlantic scallop — the shell that gives Sanibel's tide line its confetti of pink, orange, and purple.
Shell Guide
Shell Identification Guide
Learn to recognize the most common and beloved seashells you'll find along the shore.
Shell · east-coast
Coquina
Tiny wedge-shaped bivalves that appear in dazzling colour variations along the surf line.
Shell Group · caribbean
Conch
An informal group of large tropical to subtropical gastropods with flared apertures — distinct from true whelks.
Shell · gulf-coast
True Tulip
A smooth, spindle-shaped Gulf and Caribbean gastropod with soft cream and streaked-brown markings — the larger of Florida's two common tulips.
Shell · gulf-coast
Banded Tulip
A smaller, more crisply patterned tulip of the Gulf coast — dark spiral bands on a smooth cream shell make it one of the region's most photogenic finds.
Shell · gulf-coast
Apple Murex
A stout, sculptured murex of the Florida and Caribbean Gulf — heavier and more rounded than the delicate lace murex.
Shell · gulf-coast
Lace Murex
A delicately frilled Gulf murex — smaller and more ornate than the apple murex, with lace-like fronds along each varix.
Shell · east-coast
Bay Scallop
A grass-flat scallop of the U.S. east and Gulf coasts — the classic seagrass forager whose harvest still shapes Florida coastal summers.