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Category: Molluscs

Brown-lipped snail

Brown-lipped snail

The brown-lipped snail (Cepaea nemoralis), also known as grove snail or wood snail, is one of the most common species of land snail in Europe. It was first introduced to North America in the mid-1800s, both intentionally and accidentally. In fact, one scientific article I came across called them “invited invaders”. They are now relatively common in the northeastern United States and around the Great Lakes into Canada.  Brown-lipped snails come in many color forms, ranging from reddish to yellowish…

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Blue Mussels: Hanging on by a Thread

Blue Mussels: Hanging on by a Thread

Most people are relatively familiar with blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), even if only from a menu at a seafood restaurant. This popular edible bivalve (a shellfish with a hinged pair of shells) is circumpolar in its range, and in the western Atlantic Ocean extends as far south as South Carolina. Unlike the ribbed mussel that is commonly found in salt marshes and brackish water areas, the blue mussel is more common along rocky saltwater shorelines.  These rocky areas in which…

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Jingle Shell (Anomia simplex)

Jingle Shell (Anomia simplex)

Clams, quahogs, oysters and mussels are probably the most well known bivalves, mollusks with two hinged shells, but there are many others. Another example is the jingle shell (Anomia simplex). Interestingly, despite having two hinged shells, it is often only the top shell that is found washed up on the beach. The bottom shell is less frequently discovered because it often remains attached to whatever substrate the animal was growing on.  The upper shell is convex and is movable during…

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Common Slipper Shells (Crepidula fornicata)

Common Slipper Shells (Crepidula fornicata)

On most of the beaches I frequent, Common Slipper Shells (Crepidula fornicata) are by far and away the most common seashell I encounter. Each shell is an oval, approximately an inch to an inch and a half long. But on some beaches, particular those along Buzzards Bay, these relatively small shells can be so numerous as to form significant mounds covering entire areas of the beach. Although usually referred to as slipper “shells”, while the animal is still alive I…

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Common periwinkle (Littorina littorea)

Common periwinkle (Littorina littorea)

It’s hard to take a trip to a rocky coastline in New England without noticing hundreds of common periwinkles (Littorina littorea). Despite the name “common”, these gastropods are not actually native to New England. They were introduced in the mid-19th century, likely through ballast water in ships from Europe (its native range). Since then, the common periwinkle has become well established in eastern North America and is now the most common marine snail along our coastline. Although most abundant on…

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Northern Moon Snail (Lunatia heros)

Northern Moon Snail (Lunatia heros)

While walking along Nauset spit in Orleans, I encountered this Northern Moon Snail (Lunatia heros) that had been caught out on the sand as the tide retreated. It was just starting to dig down into the wet sand to keep from drying out, as well as to avoid predators, such as gulls. Moon snails also burrow to find their prey: bivalves. Since many clams are found more than 6 inches below the surface, moon snails must burrow to find them….

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Knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica)

Knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica)

There are two common species of whelk in this area: the Channeled Whelk (Busycon canaliculatum) and the Knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica). They represent our largest beach snails, and their shells can grow to be 7 to 9 inches long.  As living snails, or as empty shells on the beach, they are fairly easy to distinguish, and are appropriately named. The Channeled Whelk has a groove, or channel, running along the spiraled portion of its shell, while the Knobbed whelk has…

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Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa)

Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa)

Although most people just notice a sea of grasses when they look at a salt marsh, there are many other organisms that make their home in and among these plants. While many of these animals, such as fiddler crabs and snails are less commonly seen as the weather gets colder, there are others, like the ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa) that are not as mobile; once settled, ribbed mussels are very sedentary. Ribbed mussels occur in salt marshes along the western…

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Faraway Places: Redwoods in California

Faraway Places: Redwoods in California

While in Oregon last week, I was able to take a day trip south to California and visit Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, the northernmost location in a string of redwood parks stretching up California’s northern coast. Most of the park consists of an old growth forest, which had never been logged, giving the forest a primeval feel. It is unsurprising then, that one of the park’s groves contains four of the ten largest coast redwoods measured, including one called…

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Witches’ Brooms and Mushroom Eating Slugs

Witches’ Brooms and Mushroom Eating Slugs

It was fitting that during my visit to the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm in Maine, on the weekend just before Halloween, that one of my new discoveries was a phenomenon called witches’ brooms. With many of the leaves blown down by the storm we had the day before, these clustered growths were easy to see, and were apparent on several highbush blueberry and honeysuckle shrubs. The “witches’ brooms” are abnormal growths on the branches of the shrubs,…

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