The Angel Wing Shell


Angel Wing Shell
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Angel Wing Shell
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Angel Wing Shell
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Angel Wing Shell
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Angel Wing Shell
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I found this particular shell about a week ago, and I'm fairly certain it belongs among the Angel Wings shell group, in the Shell Book, Atlantic, Gulf and Carribean (source for following photo) a similar shell is featured,

Fallen Angel Wing Shell

Fallen Angel Wing, Barnea truncata, measuring 2-2½", and is found between Massachusetts and South Florida. Though quite different in appearance to my shell, the ribs toward the back of the shell seem to be separated by a large rib, and the rest of the shell appears smooth. On my shell the ribs continue to extend across the entire shell. Their shell, with the shape uplifted toward the back of the shell, is missing from all the shell books, but North Carolina Sea Grant Seashells of North Carolina tells about the Angelwing-shaped - angelwings (Pholadidae), Cyrtopleura costata (Linnaeus). It's habitat, lives offshore and in estuaries, burrowed as much as 3 feet deep in mud or clay. Range, New Jersey to Brazil. Sea Grant notes, "if dug up, the fragile shell must be placed immediately into a container of water or it will close suddenly and shatter."


Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Fallen Angel Wing Shell
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Sharon: ... left off debating whether or not it was an Angel Wing (Cyrtopleura costata) or Fallen Angel Wing (Barnea truncata)


Sally Thomas: My guess is that it is the Fallen Angel Wing although I have not seen one. The image next to the ruler is almost a perfect match. The rest of the points of identification are fairly diagnostic. Peterson's and National Audubon Society Field Guides are ones I turn to first.

Earlier Posts: Campeche Angel Wing

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

All the pictures on this page, except one, are Barnea truncata (Say, 1822), the Fallen Angel Wing. The shell in the larger picture with the blue background is Zirfaea crispata (Linne, 1758), the great Piddock.

Some Common Coastal NC Species

Alternate Tellin
Alternate Tellin
, Tellina Alternata (Say)

Angelwing
Angelwing
, Cyrtopleura costata (Linnaeus)

Atlantic Auger
Atlantic or Eastern Auger
, Terebra dislocata (Say)

Atlantic calico scallop
Atlantic calico scallop
, Argopecten gibbus (Linnaeus)

Common Nutmeg
Common Nutmeg
, Cancellaria reticulata (Linnaeus)

Cross Barred Venus
Cross Barred Venus
, Chione cancellata (Linnaeus)

Angelwing
Fallen Angelwing
, Atlantic Mud Piddock, Barnea truncata (Say)

Angelwing
False Angelwing
, Petricola pholadiformis (Lamarck)

Humphrey Wentletrap
Humphrey Wentletrap
, Epitonium humphreysii (Kiener)

Imperial Venus Clam
Imperial Venus
, Chione latilirata (Conrad)

Keyhole Limpet
Cayenne keyhole limpet
, Diodora cayenensis (Larmarck)

Keyhole Sand Dollar
Keyhole Sand Dollar
, Mellita quiquiesperforata (Leske, 1778)

Lettered Olive
Lettered Olive
, Oliva sayana (Ravenel)