Do you realize how difficult it is to identify seashells? You'd think it would be an easy task. I walked into our Nature Study this term thinking we'd have a blast memorizing and identifying shell types, but what I have discovered is that before I can tell my children what they are, I have to be sure that I have correctly identified them myself! And for some reason, this has been difficult, despite having a condensed Peterson guide next to me.
So last night and for a couple of hours this morning, I laid out all of our purchased shells, personal shells, and a few new ones I purchased yesterday from Hobby Lobby and set to work. Ken even sat down and helped me out for an hour. Grace was ecstatic to be part of the action, and liked to help solve our pile of "mystery" shells.
By noon today, I had two clear plastic craft boxes, full of sorted and labeled gastropods and univalves. And I'm confident that I have everything 95% correct. It wasn't until almost everything was sorted that I discovered a great web site for shell identification (and I've been looking hard ever since this study started). I highly recommend visiting: SeashellWorld.com
It was a big part in solving some of my mystery shells, and correcting my misidentification. Just in case you are losing sleep over it, a Trapezium Whelk Shell is the same as a Horse Conch Shell. If you haven't a clue as to what I am saying - you'll thank me later.
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