Clyde coast

On 18th February we did one of our favourite nearby coastal walks - around Ardmore Point. I was looking for shells and found this pair of Mya arenaria shells. I'm not sure if these are recent or sub-fossils from the ice age as they can still be found alive in this area.

The Chlamys islandica shell below is certainly a sub-fossil, as it no longer lives here. As its name suggests, it is found in more northern places, such as Iceland.

My best find of the day was this Panomya norvegica. The book "Seashells. Bivalves of the British and Northern European seas" by Christensen/Dance states [referring to the synonym Panomya spengleri] that "this undistinguished bivalve used to be highly prized by British shell collectors because of its rarity in British waters." Despite this, I had found at least one other a mile or two away. This one measured about 8cm across.

Many of the rocks are red sandstone, including this large pebble.

Some are covered with brightly coloured lichens.

A Day at the coast

Last Saturday we went down the coast to Stevenston. The idea was to collect shells, as this is the nearest point on the Clyde where one can find a reasonably wide selection of marine species. Further up the coast, the salinity is lower and the species found are more estuarine.

I was particularly looking for Limaria hians shells, having found broken ones there before. After recent storms, I hoped that there would be plenty of shells washed up. I failed to find any Limaria, and the first section of the beach was covered in seaweed, but beyond the seaweed, on the sand, I found a good collection of small shells among the fragments of coal that get washed up here.

In the picture above, the shells are as follows:
Top row: Gari fervensis (Faroe sunset shell), Eptonium turtonis (Wentletrap), Epitonium clathrus (Wentletrap), Aporrhais pespelecani (Pelican's foot shell).
Middle row: Donax vittatus (Banded wedge shell), Acteon tornatalis, a turrid still to be identified, Polinices polianus (Alder's necklace shell).
Bottom row: Donax vittatus (Banded wedge shell), Angulus tenuis (This Tellin), probably Aequipecten opercularis (Queen scallop)(x2)

The larger picture of the 2 Epitonium shells shows the difference between the 2 species. E. turtonis on the left has flatter ribs which are not aligned between whorls, while E. clathrus on the right has ribs which are aligned through the height of the shell.

Apart from shells, we also found several dead brittle stars among the debris on the beach. This one is upside down, showing its mouthparts.

We also found this strange fish...

A visit to the coast

Although we live quite close to the sea, it is estuary and sea lochs rather than open sea, so the salinity tends to be low, and pollution on the high side. There is nothing like the range of shells which can be found where there is open sea, though there are a few that particularly like the more brackish and sheltered location. I don't expect to find any really unusual species on these sheltered beaches.

Yesterday we made rather a late start, and the main object of our outing was to drive over the Ministry of Defence road above Glen Fruin and on to Coulport on Loch Long where we stopped to stretch our legs on the beach.

Unusually, the beach was covered in shells, mostly Horse Mussels (Modiolus modiolus) and Cockles. I wondered if it would be worth looking for Hungarian Caps (or Bonnet limpets - Capulus ungaricus) - one of the few British shell species I have never managed to find, apart from a very badly damaged specimen from further down the Clyde.

Only about 5 minutes after I had described this shell to Fred, I could hardly believe my eyes when I found a perfect one.

This shell measures 40mm across. Its name comes from the shape of the shell, and it lives on the shells of Horse mussels and scallops.

I also found several fresh pairs of Variegated scallop (Chlamys varia) which are not common along this coast, and some Jingle shells.

Chlamys varia

Jingle Shell (above)

Unusual cone found washed up on the beach

This cone has three spiral rows of seeds which run its entire length.

Beachcombing

Today we went beachcombing along the shore beside the estuary.

Along this stretch of coast, old ice-age beds are exposed so that one can find shells that are about 10,000 years old. Some are no longer found living around the British coastline.

Below are some Icelandic scallop (Chlamys islandica) shells. These can still be found living around Iceland, but are extinct in British waters.

Here's my collection for today. These are all ice-age shells, plus a marble and a broken clay pipe. Some of the shells are in remarkably fresh-looking condition, as they were buried in heavy clay which preserved them perfectly. Pictures of these and more, along with their names, can be found on our website

Among my finds today was this pair of Chlamys islandica. I've added a juvenile shell to each picture for scale, and it measures 35mm in its longest dimension.

The Trophon shell (below) is one of my favourites, though the specimen I found today is a little bit broken.

And who would expect that we would find a PENGUIN??

Skye coral beach

Near Dunvegan, in the north-west of Skye, we visited a beach composed of what looks like coral.

This is not coral at all, but broken pieces of calcified red seaweed known as maerl. For more information about maerl, see the UK Marine SACs project website.

Among the maerl fragments are many seashells such as those below:

top: Clausinella fasciata (Banded Venus), Trivia monacha (Spotted cowrie), Hinia incrassata (Thick-lipped Dog Whelk), Gari tellinella (Sunset Shell).

centre: Gibbula opercularis (Flat Top Shell), Gibbula cineraria (Grey Top Shell), Tectura virginea (White tortoiseshell limpet).

bottom: Parvicardium exiguum (Little cockle), Lucinoma borealis (Northern Lucine), Aequipecten opercularis (Queen Scallop).

Below are some larger shells, clockwise: Gari depressa (Large Sunset Shell), a piece of Maerl, Dosinia exoleta (Rayed Artemis), Venerupis senegalensis (Pullet Carpet Shell), Circomphalus casina, Mya truncata (Blunt Gaper).

For more about seashells, see our UK Seashells website.