Nature Programs
Wildlife Highlights
Shell Hunters Love Amelia
Shells are among the most familiar and fascinating of nature's creations. Prized since ancient times for their beauty, shells appear in Renaissance paintings, architectural sculpture and modern jewelry and furniture.
The shells that we find along the beach are now empty. Each one once contained an animal called a mollusk, who actually produces the shell. Mollusks are cold-blooded animals with soft bodies and no internal skeleton. The mollusk is covered by a secreted shell, which the animal adds new material to the outside edges as it grows. The shell acts as support and protection for the mollusks and is never shed while it is alive.
