After combing the beach for an hour our group headed to the Sanibel island shell museum. There we were met by Dick Weiss who informed us about the local mollusk population. First we watched a video which detailed all of the different molluscs native to Sanibel island. After the video Mr. Weiss took us down to the small aquarium filled with different molluscs.
The Florida fighting conchs entertained us by hopelessly resisting Dick Weiss as he held them up for us to see. The conchs attempted to gain their freedom by pushing with their weak foot against their captor, a trait that is common among the Florida Fighting Conchs. The little vegetarians, who serve as food for most of the carnivores and omnivores, live up to their namesake by fighting any hand that attempts to hold them. After viewing the live aquarium we were given a guided tour of the museum.
We were shown many examples of the different shells and their various uses through history. One of their more interesting uses were the sailors valentines, beautiful shell art in octagonal boxes, created or purchased by sailors for their wives. Also interesting was the use of cowry shells as currency in Africa.
We were introduced to many of the common mollusc shells that are found on Sanibel island and also given descriptions of the molluscs that create them. Then Dick showed us where donated shells are identified and cataloged by volunteers.
We concluded our first evening with dinner and a discussion of the history of Sanibel island followed by combing the beach for night critters and getting some photographs of the various nightlife we encountered.
No comments:
Post a Comment