-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
These are opercula from Queen Conchs. A fisher had dumped them on the beach from his fishing boat I presume. They cut the columellar muscle through the shell in the boat while they are out at sea, taking the soft parts and dumping the shells overboard. That makes it hard to know if they are breaking the law by taking subadult conchs, which is almost always the case unfortunately.
-
Found on the beach of Jones Bay, and placed by the front door. With these shells, that were all fished, it is easy to see the difference between the juveniles, which are illegally harvested as food, to sell to the hotels and so on, and the one big adult with the fully flared out lip. These fine sea snails take about 5 years to reach adulthood but can live maybe another 20 years after that, if they are not captured. However the conchs off Nevis almost never get to adult size, let alone living to a ripe old age.
-
This is the shell of a young conch that died of natural causes, instead of being fishes. You can tell that because there is no cut in the spire of the shell.
-
This is the shell of a young conch that died of natural causes, instead of being fishes. You can tell that because there is no cut in the spire of the shell.
-
-
-
Found in shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea.
-
-
-
Descansando en pasto marino
-
-
-
Species #3, ventral view
-
Species #3, ventral view