Beaded Periwinkle Tectarius muricatus    Found on mangroves at tide line Up to 1"

Angulate Periwinkle Littorina angulifera    Found on mangroves at tide line Up to 1"

Paper Fig seashell Ficus communis- Shallow water sand bottom.  Often misidentified as a pear whelk and visa versa. Very light and fragile seashell. Up to 4"

Pear Whelk Busycon spiratum  Sometimes confused with the fig seashell that is much lighter. Can vary in color form as shown below.  The lighter

form can really look like a fig shell. Up to 5"

Alphabet Cone Conus spurius  Generally found on sandy bottoms.  Also called Chinese alphabet cone.  Up to 3.5"

Baby's EarSinum perspectivum Found along beach on sandy bottom. 

Up to 1.5"

Maculated Ear Moon  Sinum maculosum Usually found offshore.  Uncommon. Up to 1.5"

Slipper ShellCrepidula fornicata On beach.  Up to 2"

Worm seashellA couple different species can be found.  Vermicularia knorri Found along beaches.  Can really vary in color and shape as seen in photos. Up to 4" 

Nutmeg  Cancellaria reticulata Found in shallows on sand. Up to 1.5"

Florida ConeConus floridanus  Can vary in color form.  Found along the beaches.   Up to 1.5" 

Spiny Jewel Box Arcinella arcinella  Very common along beach, up to 1.5"

Apple Murex Phyllonotus pomum One of the more common murex that can be found along the shore.  Is often occupied by hermit crabs. Up to 3"

Lace Murex Chicoreus dilectus Can be found ranging in color from Black to

brown to orange to white. Along the beaches. Up to 2.5"

Junonia  Scaphella junonia Usually found offshore and dredged up by shrimp boats or diver gathered.  It does occasionally washes up on the beach. Up to 5"

Lettered Olive Oliva sayana Commonly found along the West Coast Florida.  If found live or fresh dead the shell can have a great shiny luster.  This often fades as the shell is beat up by the surf coming to shore.  Up to 3"

Shark Eye or Moon snail  Polinices duplicatus Found along sand bottoms.  Generally easy to find. Up to 2"

Gaudy Natica Natica canrena  common in sandy shallows Up to 1"

Bleeding Tooth  Nerita peloronta  Intertidal amongst rocks in Bay.  Up to 1"

King's Crown  Melongena corona Usually found among the mangroves and oyster beds. Up to 4" in size. Tends to be more of a bay shell because of its habitat. This is not usually a shell to be found along the beach unless you are near a pass of other area where oyster bars and mangroves are near.    Color form and spine structure can vary greatly from one area to the next. 

Below illustrates the variances with in the species

Banded Tulip  Fasciolaria hunteria  Common in shallow grassy bays. Harder to find along the beach as it likes the grass flats that are in the bay.  Up to 3" 

Fighting ConchStrombus alatus One of the most common seashells found on Sanibel beaches.  They live in colonies, so where one is found there are usually more.  They can be found all  along the beaches as they love a sandy or light grass habitat.  Grows up to 4" 

Below you can see the great variation in color of the fighting conch

This is a juvenile fighting conch.  It can sometimes be tough to identify because it is so different from an adult one.  A  lot of the seashell books do not picture it. 

True Tulip  Fasciolaria tulipa   Somewhat common in the bay. Habitat is more of the grass flats of the bay, so easier to find in the bay then the gulf side beaches.  Can get much larger than the banded form. As seen below can be found in a great variety of colors.  Up to 8"

Jujube Top-ShellCalliostoma jujubinum Along the beaches.  Up to 1"

Conus delessertii  found in deeper waters, varies in shade Up to 3"

Atlantic Bubble Bulla striata  Very common. Gulf of Mexico in grassy areas  A light seashell so very abundant after a strong wind.  Up to 1" 

Scotch Bonnet Phalium granulatum Found along the beaches. Up to 3". State shell of North Carolina

Wentletraps Epitonium sps. Commonly found along high tide shoreline Up to 1"

Florida Auger  Terebra floridana  Up to 2"

Fly-Specked CerithCerithium muscarum Common 1"

Florida CerithCerithium atratum Common on beach up to 1"

Horse ConchPleuroploca gigantea State shell of Florida Found mostly in bay on grass flats but can also be found along the Gulf. Up to 24"

Lightning WhelkBusycon contrarium  One of the few left handed seashells.  Up to 15"

Turkey Wing a.k.a. Zebra Arc Arca zebra  Common. Up to 4"

Jingles Anomia simplex Shallow water abundant. Very shiny. Can be found in a variety of colors. Up to 1.5"

Lion's Paw  Lyropecten nodosus Deeper water. Difficult to find along the beach.  Usually bought up in shrimp boat dredges.  After storms a half may wash up on the beach. Can be found in a variety of colors as seen below Up to 6"

Pecten Raveneli Euvola raveneli Difficult to find as a pair.  One side is completely

flat while the other is cupped.  1 1/2"

Pen Shell Atrina and Pinna sps.  Very common on beach after storm, iridescent interior  Up to 10"

CoquinaDonax variabilis Very common and widespread along waters edge. Watch for feeding birds along water edge, they are usually eating coquina Up to 1

Imperial VenusChione latilirata  Up to 1"

Kitten's Paw  Plicatula gibbosa  Abundant along sandy beaches, up to 1"