Episode 1501: Mollusks: More than a Shell

Seashells, with their beautiful shapes and colors, have inspired humans since the dawn of time. Many people enjoy collecting seashells on the beach, and the southwest coast of Florida is a great place to find these natural treasures.

While shells delight young and old, few know about the equally fascinating animals that create these elaborate skeletons. They belong to the phylum Mollusca, the second largest phylum in the animal kingdom, and include well-known mollusks such as clams and snails, as well as lesser-known creatures like tusk shells and chitons. These animals have surprisingly varied diets and reproductive strategies.

Scientists and shell enthusiasts have treasured and studied seashells for generations, amassing large collections in the process. Now, a new initiative, known as the Eastern Seaboard Project, brings together multiple institutions to make their vast collections easily accessible online.

And, despite the large collections that already exist, researchers and citizen scientists continue to make new discoveries. More than one new species is named every day. These include tiny micromollusks, as well as otherworldly planktonic creatures that migrate up from the depths each night to feed, where daring blackwater photographers document them in stunning imagery.

Experts

Meet the experts featured in this episode.

Episode Photos

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Conchs are grazers and feed on algae. In the wild their beautiful shells are often overgrown and look quite different from their cleaned counterparts in shell collections.

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The Florida Keys are home to more than half of the shelled mollusk species that occur along the eastern seaboard.

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The Field Museum’s Curator of Invertebrates, Rüdiger Bieler, Ph.D., holding two different color forms of Milk Conchs, which can be found in the shallow waters of the Florida Keys.

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A subadult Hawkwing Conch. Can you see its beautiful eye stalks?

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Not all shelled mollusks are herbivores. This True Tulip is preying on a Hawkwing Conch.

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A Milk Conch peeks out from its shell. The animal moves by using its powerful foot to propel itself forward.

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Seashells also live on coral reefs. Rüdiger Bieler, Ph.D., has spent more than three decades studying the animals in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

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The Flamingo Tongue snail is unique in that its vibrantly colored soft body envelops the outside of its shell. The species feeds on soft corals.

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Shelled marine mollusks often blend in with their surroundings to avoid the attention of predators.

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The Changing Seas crew along with Rüdiger Bieler, Ph.D. after a beautiful day of filming in the Florida Keys.

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Florida’s Sanibel Island is a popular shelling destination.

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Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum Science Director & Curator, José Leal, Ph.D., showcases one of the shells beachcombers can find in Southwest Florida.

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The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum is the only accredited museum in the United States devoted solely to shells and the mollusks that make them.

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Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum Science Director & Curator, José Leal, Ph.D., looks for a specimen in the museum’s scientific collection.

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A living bivalve on exhibit at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Florida’s Sanibel Island.

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Florida Museum of Natural History Collection Manager of Invertebrates, John Slapcinsky, takes a closer look at one of the specimens in the museum’s collection.

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Preserved specimens at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

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The Florida Museum of Natural History has one of the largest shell collections in the United States.

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Collection Manager of Invertebrates John Slapcinsky searches the Florida Museum’s mollusk collection. The museum is part of the Eastern Seaboard Project, a collaboration between multiple institutions that makes the vast information in their mollusk collections easily searchable online.

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One thing that’s unique in the mollusk world is how much researchers collaborate closely with shell collectors turned citizen scientists. One of them is retired physician and citizen malacologist, Harry Lee, M.D.

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Retired physician and citizen malacologist, Harry Lee, M.D., has had 21 mollusk species named after him.

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Citizen malacologist, Harry Lee, M.D., volunteers in the Florida Museum’s invertebrate paleontology division, where each week he spends hours searching prepared samples for micromollusks.

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Micromollusks, which are shells that are smaller than 5.5 millimeters, make up half of the biodiversity of seashells.

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The Changing Seas crew films underwater Photographer & Author Linda Ianniello. During an activity known as blackwater diving, Linda takes exquisite photographs of tiny mollusks that migrate up from the depths at night.

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Together with fellow blackwater diver and friend Susan Mears, Linda published a book on the creatures they photographed.

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Underwater Photographer & Author Linda Ianniello ready to dive!

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Changing Seas Director of Photography Sean Hickey films divers using Linda's and Susan’s book as a reference.

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Divers follow a lighted buoy during a blackwater dive. Only a few areas in the world currently offer this experience, one of which is off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida.

Special Thanks:

Looe Key Reef Resort & Dive Center

27340 Overseas Highway

Ramrod Key, FL 33042

305-872-2215

Pura Vida Divers

2513 Beach Court
Riviera Beach, FL 33404

561-840-8750

Comfort Inn & Suites

Jacksonville Orange Park

8001 Parramore Road

Jacksonville, FL 32244

904-932-0096

Hampton Inn & Suites |

Fort Myers Beach / Sanibel Gateway

11281 Summerlin Square Blvd

Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931

239-437-8888

Image Credits

Changing Seas would like to thank the following individuals and institutions who kindly allowed their footage, images and other media to be used in this production:

Episode 1501: Mollusks: More than a Shell

Experts

Rüdiger Bieler, Ph.D.

José Leal, Ph.D.

John Slapcinsky

Harry G. Lee, M.D., F.L.S.

Linda Ianniello

Special Thanks:

27340 Overseas Highway

Ramrod Key, FL 33042

305-872-2215

2513 Beach CourtRiviera Beach, FL 33404

561-840-8750

8001 Parramore Road

Jacksonville, FL 32244

904-932-0096

11281 Summerlin Square Blvd

Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931

239-437-8888

Image Credits

Kristen Grace

John Slapcinsky

Illustrations by Merald Clark

Amy Tripp

Research in the Florida Keys NMS

conducted under Permit FKNMS-2022-031

Web Extras

Explore Blackwater Photography with Photographer Linda Ianniello

Episode Sneak Peek

Shells with Doc Leal | Slipper Snail

Shells with Doc Leal | Coquina

Shells with Doc Leal | Florida Fighting Conch

Shells with Doc Leal | Jingle

Shells with Doc Leal | Alphabet Cone

Blackwater Diving | Palm Beach, Florida

Photographing Tiny, Scientific Specimens 🐚

Conchology & Malacology- What's the Difference?

Can YOU Spot This Mollusk's Subtle Movements?

Funding for this episode of Changing Seas was provided by:

2513 Beach Court
Riviera Beach, FL 33404