She finds seashells down by the seashore.


Beachcombing
for shells, rocks, and fossils.
O'ahu is relatively young, roughly 3.5-5 million years young(comprising of 3(before 2014 thought to be just 2) "extinct" shield volcanoes; Ka'ena, Wai'anae, and Ko'olau) so it's one of the shittier places to find fossils, not to say that there's none to be found.  The island of O'ahu mainly offers marine life samples exposed on the shorelines (as well as some avian terrestrials, but mainly found in sand dunes and sink holes(we'll save that for another post) from the Pleistocene epoch occurring 2.588 million - 11,700 years ago.

The shells I have pictured below were found, not harvested!  Each creature is listed by it's binomial name, followed by it's common name, whether or not it's endemic to Hawai'i, individual characteristic(s), and an approximate measurement of it's length.

via Fossicking

Listed in order from left to right







via Beachcombing

Listed in order from left to right


  • Hawaiian Snakehead cowry 2.5cm
  • Hawaiian leviathan cowry E 5.75cm
  • Lyncina sulcidentata or Groove-toothed cowry E 3.5cm
  • Hawaiian Snakehead cowry E, purple-top 2.7cm
  • Mauritia mauritiana or Humpback cowry(?), all bussss 4.7cm






    Listed in order from left to right, by row starting at the top.  However, no measurements for these fakas, too lazy.








    Tips for scouring the shores:
    Educate yourself, period or just use your common sense.  There's nothing that fires me up more than voluntary ignorance.  I'm no expert, but hey would you look at that.....the screen that you stare into for hours on end looking at garbage can also supply you with a nearly endless expanse of knowledge.
    Don't be a pos and kill endemic snails, molluscs or anything of the sort in order to harvest their shells.  Try not take more than just a few empty damaged or just one Nerite, Top, or Turbo snail shell(s) as hermit crabs commonly use these shells as homes.
    Watch out for Cone shells as they are ALL venomous, and can range from an annoying bee sting to a fatality i.e. Mortal Kombat.
    Here is DLNR's list of invasive species to Hawai'i, just for future reference.


    I'd like to know if I made any mistakes classifying the shells here or if you can help me with the ones I was unsure of, it'd be greatly appreciated.  If you need additional images to help me, just let me know.
    &Let me know in the comments below what's in your collection or your most prized shell!


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