John Tucker, age 8, of Victoria, Cana a'oW For his question:
Are sand collars made by sea snails?
When you see a garden snail, it is a good idea to get your crayons and draw his portrait. Study tie curving shell and the graceful gliding of the snail’s body. He does not look at all like us, but in his own way he is very handsome. He has thousands of assorted snaily cousins living in the ocean, each one mare handsome than all the rest.
The seashore is a fine place for treasure hunting. You may find scraps of strange sea weed and piles of pretty pebbles. You might fill a bag with lovely sea shells and you might find a rare sand collar. Many of the most beautiful sea shells are made by sea snails » and the strange sand collar is also made by a sea dwelling snail.
The sand collar, sure enough, is a sandy mass shaped round like a collar. Perhaps it looks more like a necklace of tightly threaded beads. There may be aria or two rows of the tough, horny beads mixed with a mass of sand and ,belly. The necklace is open on one side.
The beads are really tough capsules stuffed with tiny snail eggs. The mother who laid the eggs was most likely one of the whelk sea snails. She has a special gland on her foot which she uses to seal her eggs in the sand collar and the task may take her several days, There are thousands of eggs in the sand collar and when the capsules begin to hatch, many of the youngsters will eat each other. Only a few of the vast family will escape their enemies in the sea and live to grow up.
The whelks are some of the largest of the sea snails. Their tough and glassy shells are often very graceful but many other sea snails are more colorful. And most sea snails are more gentle than the whelks. They feed on weeds and soft foods but the bold whelks are meat eaters and hunters.
They attack live clams and oysters, scallops and even crabs.
Whelks, conches and periwinkles are some of the sea snails that we enjoy eating. A graceful conch sea snail shell, lined with glossy pinks and yellows, may be ten inches long. Some of the smaller sea snails have glossy shells adorned with jeweled colors. There are more than 200 different little cowrie shells. Like most of the glossy jewel colored shells, they are made by sea snails which live in warm tropical seas.
Many people collect beautiful sea shells, just for fun. But some of the rare and beautiful shells are valuable. Imagine paying $200 for a snail shell. Certain sea snail shells were once sold for this price. They look like graceful. scrolls spotted like peacocks. We find them off Florida and a fine one may still be worth ten, twenty or even thirty dollars,