Now this is certainly unusual!
Longtime guest Don. P. from Farmington Hills, MI, who found a rare Junonia during his visit here last year, shares this photo along with the story of finding this most unique-looking shell:
I found this shell while at Ocean’s Reach last year, after I had found the Junonia shell. I thought it was covered with something that had attached itself to the shell. I tried to scrape it off, but it wouldn’t come off.
I then tried soaking it in bleach water, as that takes off almost everything that “sticks” to shells. That didn’t work either. I was about ready to throw it away, when I decided to see what kind of shell was under all the “stuff” stuck to it, as it had a pretty shape.
To my amazement, when I googled “hairy shells” it turned out that it is the hairy version of a Triton shell. It is called a Hairy Triton and the “hair” is naturally occurring on the shell.
In my 25 years or so of shelling on Sanibel, I had never seen one. To me it’s as unique a find as the Junonia, but now that I know what to look for, maybe I’ll find more on our next visit!
Looking forward to our next visit … can’t wait … it’s been a long winter in Michigan!
As always, we love hearing from you, Don, and look forward to your next visit, too. We’ll have the sunshine ready and waiting for you, and hopefully another unique shell find, too!
