Are you ready for the ultimate sea shell identification guide?
There are actually around 100,000 shells in the world. I’ll highlight the shells you’ll most likely find at the beach and a few other interesting and beautiful shells.
Would you like a free printable of the most common seashells? Click the button below.
I'm based in North Carolina, and love finding the hidden gems of the Carolinas and beyond! I explore quaint towns, adventurous outdoor activities, and fantastic food to help my readers plan their own unforgettable travels.
how do I receive the guides I’ve done alot shelling in the last 37 years. mostly in Florida and the Carolina’s, but don’t have a good guide to identify many of the different shells. I just turned 79 and I don’t get around as much. a guide would really help me identify some of the 75pounds of shells I’ve collected. do you email the guides? thanks
There’s a button you click on that post that will take you to a form where you put in your email address. Once you do that, you’ll be able to access the printable seashell guide. You could also invest in a good shelling identification book. I think I recommend a good one in that post. But I’m sure you could find one from any good bookstore. That’s exciting that you’ve collected that many shells!
Me and my family live towards the center of the country, so driving to the beach means driving for a million hours or so. I live somewhat near Idaho and Oregon. So, what are the best local beaches I can visit?
Such gorgeous shells! I recently found what I think is a Snake Head Cowry in the Bahamas. I didn’t know what it was until I read your list! I wonder if it’s still valuable? 😉 I also found an amazingly gorgeous and shiny white olive shell with yellow stripes.. it’s so different from the ones we have on the coast of North Carolina!
That’s so cool that you got to go shelling in the Bahamas! I’m so jealous 🙂 I’ve seen a lot of Snake Head Cowrys for sale on Etsy. Some people also make them into necklaces to sell.
Very helpful guide thank you! I differ with just one shell on your list. I don’t think those are chestnut turbans (the shells in the picture). I find a lot of them in Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida and they are not pointed at the top. Check it out. Otherwise very helpful – I was trying to find a shell that I found and your post helped! (jackknife).
I’ll take a look at the picture I have for that shell. Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you found the guide helpful. And thanks for mentioning Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida. I hope to go there soon.
I love seashells so much I bought a beautiful display case with 5 glass shelves to display them. My visitors, guests and family can’t get enough of them, they always ooh and awe over them. I’ve purchased many of the rare ones and they live beside the ones I’ve found on the florida beaches. The short descriptions of the ones covered here are excellent. You’ve done us a marvelous service with the pictures and stories of each one. A big thank you! I’m getting a 5 year old grandson of a neighbor interested in seashells by letting him pick a shell that he is drawn to and telling him a story about it. Makes my 90 yr old mind glow!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing about your seashell collection. It sounds amazing! One of my goals is to visit Florida to collect seashells!
Wow this is an amazing guide to identifying shells! It’s so fun to find and collect them. Now there’s an easy way to know what kind of shell you’ve found.
I understand why collectors would want the lightening shell, it’s gorgeous. Oh and the sand dollar, we have them here on the Canadian West Coast, and ours are black when they are alive. I’ve never seen them in any other colour up here, but they are probably much more beautiful in a vibrant colour.
Wow what an extensive guide! Seashells are so beautiful. I always try to not take too many because I don’t want to disturb the beaches ecosystem. But I think a little at a time creates such a lovely momento from your trip.
We definitely need to be mindful of the beach ecosystem. Empty shells can be future homes for sea critters. And in some places, it’s illegal to take empty shells.
I had no idea there was so different kind of shells. Love the pictures tu go with the descriptions of each. I will be more careful now and see if I can find rare ones.
I remember seeing many of these seashells when we visited the back beaches. Thanks for the shell identification guide as it has bought back those memories of finding them.
It’s really interesting how long sea life can live. And so important to make sure there are no critters still alive in the shells you collect – I’ve learned the hard way 🙂
What a great shell guide and now I know what I need to do when I go visit my granddaughters in North Carolina we def need to take a trip to the beaches. This is a great activity to do with them they will love it. I might have to print off picts and have them match them.
This is an awesome shell guide! I learned sooo much!! Will definitely add another dimension to my daughters collection! Now she can identify what she has!
63 Responses
how do I receive the guides I’ve done alot shelling in the last 37 years. mostly in Florida and the Carolina’s, but don’t have a good guide to identify many of the different shells. I just turned 79 and I don’t get around as much. a guide would really help me identify some of the 75pounds of shells I’ve collected. do you email the guides? thanks
There’s a button you click on that post that will take you to a form where you put in your email address. Once you do that, you’ll be able to access the printable seashell guide. You could also invest in a good shelling identification book. I think I recommend a good one in that post. But I’m sure you could find one from any good bookstore. That’s exciting that you’ve collected that many shells!
Me and my family live towards the center of the country, so driving to the beach means driving for a million hours or so. I live somewhat near Idaho and Oregon. So, what are the best local beaches I can visit?
I am more familiar with beaches on the east coast, but Cannon Beach in Oregon is a gorgeous beach.
Super helpful, visually appealing and fun + concise!
Thanks so much. Glad you like it!
Such gorgeous shells! I recently found what I think is a Snake Head Cowry in the Bahamas. I didn’t know what it was until I read your list! I wonder if it’s still valuable? 😉
I also found an amazingly gorgeous and shiny white olive shell with yellow stripes.. it’s so different from the ones we have on the coast of North Carolina!
That’s so cool that you got to go shelling in the Bahamas! I’m so jealous 🙂 I’ve seen a lot of Snake Head Cowrys for sale on Etsy. Some people also make them into necklaces to sell.
You have a photo that you have listed as bittersweet clam but the shells are actually scallop shells not bittersweet clam shells.
My daughter love to collect shells. I am on search for different species of shells and this is a great help. Thank you.
Thanks so much for reading! Glad it was helpful.
i HAVE A GREAT COLLECTION OF FLORIDA SHELLS THAT I COLLECTED OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS
That’s awesome! Shell collecting is so much fun.
Very helpful guide thank you! I differ with just one shell on your list. I don’t think those are chestnut turbans (the shells in the picture). I find a lot of them in Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida and they are not pointed at the top. Check it out. Otherwise very helpful – I was trying to find a shell that I found and your post helped! (jackknife).
I’ll take a look at the picture I have for that shell. Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you found the guide helpful. And thanks for mentioning Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida. I hope to go there soon.
This was not very helpful, I like you to add a lot more shells. Cus’ I live in the tropics.
I have a goal to get even more shells on my list. I’ll try to get more tropical shells on there. Thanks for the feedback!
I love seashells so much I bought a beautiful display case with 5 glass shelves to display them. My visitors, guests and family can’t get enough of them, they always ooh and awe over them. I’ve purchased many of the rare ones and they live beside the ones I’ve found on the florida beaches. The short descriptions of the ones covered here are excellent. You’ve done us a marvelous service with the pictures and stories of each one. A big thank you! I’m getting a 5 year old grandson of a neighbor interested in seashells by letting him pick a shell that he is drawn to and telling him a story about it. Makes my 90 yr old mind glow!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing about your seashell collection. It sounds amazing! One of my goals is to visit Florida to collect seashells!
you have the worng picture forthe bittersweet clam, At least I think :0
Thank you! I’ll check into that!
You and I both noticed the same misidentification. However it still shows a scallop shell for a bittersweet clam shell.
Wow this is an amazing guide to identifying shells! It’s so fun to find and collect them. Now there’s an easy way to know what kind of shell you’ve found.
I’m so glad you found this guide helpful. It’s so fun to identify seashells!
Thanks! I do hope it helps others have fun shelling.
This is such a cool post! I’ll be referring to it throughout the summer as we collect shells!
I’m so glad you found this seashell guide helpful!
I love the beach and this is an absolutely amazing list to keep on hand!!! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! What a collection. I really loved the Indo-Pacific one, so beautiful!
I’m so glad you found a shell you like. That one is really pretty!
Wow! I learned so much from this post. Thank you. The pictures were really helpful.
I’m really glad you found the shell guide helpful. Thanks for reading!
I understand why collectors would want the lightening shell, it’s gorgeous. Oh and the sand dollar, we have them here on the Canadian West Coast, and ours are black when they are alive. I’ve never seen them in any other colour up here, but they are probably much more beautiful in a vibrant colour.
That’s interesting that your sand dollars are black. I’m going to have to look up a picture of that!
Wow what an extensive guide! Seashells are so beautiful. I always try to not take too many because I don’t want to disturb the beaches ecosystem. But I think a little at a time creates such a lovely momento from your trip.
We definitely need to be mindful of the beach ecosystem. Empty shells can be future homes for sea critters. And in some places, it’s illegal to take empty shells.
I had no idea there was so different kind of shells. Love the pictures tu go with the descriptions of each. I will be more careful now and see if I can find rare ones.
I definitely appreciate seashells more now that I can identify them better. The sea world is so amazing!
Wish I had this recently when we were staying in the outer banks for our 25th! Great guide for one of my favorite vacation pastimes!
How nice that you got to stay in the Outer Banks for your anniversary! The Outer Banks are a great place to go shelling.
I remember seeing many of these seashells when we visited the back beaches. Thanks for the shell identification guide as it has bought back those memories of finding them.
I’m so glad you like the shell guide. They’re so much fun to find!
So very interesting! I love it! This is a great guide!
Thanks for reading!!! 🙂
I had no idea about the lifespan on some of these! Wow!!
It’s really interesting how long sea life can live. And so important to make sure there are no critters still alive in the shells you collect – I’ve learned the hard way 🙂
Super thorough guide! Such beautiful shells!
I’m so glad you liked the seashell guide. Shells are definitely beautiful.
What a great shell guide and now I know what I need to do when I go visit my granddaughters in North Carolina we def need to take a trip to the beaches. This is a great activity to do with them they will love it. I might have to print off picts and have them match them.
I have a printable that goes with the post. There’s a link somewhere in the post to a 4-page colorful printout of the shells in the post.
You aren’t kidding, this really is the ultimate shell guide! I’ve got some new ones to look for!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. There are about 100,000 shells, but I thought that might be overkill… 🙂
Aww, I love seashells! What an awesome and extensive guide.
Seashells are amazing. Glad you like the guide.
What a great guide. We have a jar with our favorite shells we’ve found over the years.
That’s awesome that you’ve found a way to keep the shells you’ve collected. They are a great way to remember beach trips.
I will definitely be back to this post the next time I find an interesting seashell. My favorite one you posted is the sundial!
That sundial shell is so gorgeous. I hope to find one someday!
This is very helpful! We love collecting shells along the beach but never have any idea what kind they might be, but now we can find out!
I’ve really enjoyed getting into collecting and identifying shells. There are even seashell collecting clubs you can join.
This is an awesome shell guide! I learned sooo much!! Will definitely add another dimension to my daughters collection! Now she can identify what she has!
I’m so glad you liked it. There are even more shells than what I have here, but these are most of the common ones, and I had to stop somewhere….
This is such an amazing shell guide! I love learning about all the different seashell names! Great Post!