Posts Tagged ‘shell’
Sunday, July 18th, 2010
Here he is again carrying his very distinctive red, tube style home.
Hermit crabs or Soldier Crabs are usually very particular about their shells. Shell switching is not uncommon as the crab searches for the perfect shell. Barry and I had laid out four shells we had and it seemed that his preference was for the West Indian Top Snail shell.
We helped him shed the red tube and he gradually worked his way into his new home.
The hermit crab has four tiny legs to hold the shell in place…a fourth leg that clasps the shell and the fifth that holds the shell.
Here's a close up of the Hermit Crab's fourh and fifth legs that grasp onto the shell.
Another view of the additional much smaller legs as the Hermit Crab moves into his new shell home.
In the wild, Hermit or Soldier Crabs feed off of coconut trees, leftovers from humans, and they will scavenge dead organisms, such as fish and other crabs. By the way, if they can’t find an adequate shell, they will use such man made things as plastic glasses, tiny one person jam jars, PVC pipes or whatever they can scrounge.
OK..........finally it's time to move in !
Almost set to go and settling in.
Home Sweet Home and we're on the road again.
Hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed photographing this little guy and helping him along in finding his new home.
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com
Tags: Caribbean Hermit crab, crab, Crabs, Hermit crab, land crabs, shell, Shells, Soldier crab, West Indian Top Snail
Posted in Crabs, Crustaceans, Flora and Fauna, Providenciales, Shells, Turks and Caicos Islands | No Comments »
Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Four new homes lie ready and waiting for this Hermit Crab I found in our wild area today
This little Soldier Crab was maneuvering quite easily with his four inch, closed pipe for a home. Barry watched him while I ran to get my camera and play realtor by looking for some shells that might make a new, more traditional home for him.
The reddish pipe or tube like container didn't look all that comfortable.
Checking out a Tulip Shell for size and fit??
Here's a West Indian Top Snail shell that our hermit crab is taking a look at.
Hermit crabs are the only crabs that are able to walk forwards!!
This shell is also known as the Magpie Shell and is a species of large edible sea snail
The West Indian Top Snail shell is very popular indeed as “housing” for the large land hermit crab species and over the years we have gathered quite a few for occasions such as this. They are found at water’s edge and the snail is known as “wilks” or sometimes as “whelks” in the islands here where they are popular food item.
Tomorrow’ post will show the hermit crab moving into his new “shell” home.
Marta
Tags: Caribbean Hermit crab, crab, Crabs, Hermit crab, hermit crabs, sea snail, seashells, shell, Shells, Soldier crab, Tulip Shell, West Indian Top Snail, whelks, wilks
Posted in Crabs, Crustaceans, Flora and Fauna, Providenciales, Shells, Turks and Caicos Islands | No Comments »
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
A snorkeler takes a close look at a beautiful King Helmet shell
Eve finds and takes a closer look at a spectacular King Helmet shell while snorkeling off Babalua beach a while ago. They have a thick, glossy “shield” on the inside of the aperture on the bottom of the shell. This can be carved into cameos, and so they are sometimes called “cameo shells.
”King Helmet sea shells are shallow sandy bottom dwellers and feed mainly on sea urchins and starfish
The King Helmet is a species of very large sea snail with a solid heavy shell.
Keep a watch for these striking shells as you snorkel at various spots on Providenciales. The water is brilliantly clear and hopefully you’ll be able to find and enjoy seeing some of the great varieties of shells including the Queen Conch.
Marta
Tags: Helmet shell, King Helmet, King Helmet shell, shell, Shells
Posted in Flora and Fauna, Mollusks, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos History | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
The Sunrise Tellin shell has to be one of the most beautiful you'll ever see with pink, yellow and white radiating stripes.
Marta
Tags: beach, shell, Shells, Sunrise Tellin, Sunrise Tellin shell, Tellin Shell
Posted in Beaches, Flora and Fauna, Providenciales, Shells, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
A south side beach offers thousands of tiny little shells lying on the sand in a large pile.
A beach walk on one of the south side beaches and a beautiful discovery………….thousands of tiny shells deposited in a large pile on the sand by the ocean.
Here's a closeup of the shells that were different colours and shapes and sizes.
Loads of shells washed up in a large pile on the beach.
Happy shelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands!
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com
Tags: beach, Beaches, shell, shelling, Shells
Posted in Beaches, Flora and Fauna, Places to go, Providenciales, Shells, Turks and Caicos Islands, What to do | No Comments »
Monday, July 27th, 2009
Late afternoon and the gentle waves had thrown up a shell on the beach
An afternoon trip to “my beach” just down the road from Harbour Club Villas and there I found a beautiful shell just laying there on the smooth sand. The sun was getting low and the water was shimmering and dancing as gentle waves rolled in. Everywhere I go, there seems to be a perfect photo just waiting to be snapped.
See you on the beach!
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com
Tags: beach, Harbour Club Villas, shell
Posted in Beaches, Flora and Fauna, Places to go, Providenciales, Shells, Turks and Caicos Islands | No Comments »
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
A close look at shells attached to the rocks along the rocky shoreline
Yesterday’s boat trip to South West Harbour Bluff at low tide gave me an opportunity to explore the rocky shore line close to the pirates cave and Osprey Rock. I took photos of these tiny shells clinging onto the rocks but it was difficult with the water flowing over.
Beautiful shells on the rocks revealed interesting critters (check out the blue colour) that I discovered once I had put them up on my computer.
Can you pick out the small three coloured hermit crabs peeking out from the shells? These tiny crabs called Clibanarius Tricolor are found in tidal pools and on intertidal and subtidal rocks. They have blue legs with red stripes and I didn’t even notice this when I was taking the photos. These shells were very pretty and in the close up you can see the blue striped legs coming out of two of the shells.
Tidal rocks had clusters of shells and to my surprise, small tricoloured blue hermit crabs in them.
Blue legs with red stripes of the very small TriColoured Hermit Crab
More neat and interesting things that I found along the undercut shore line at low tide will be posted in days to come. There are so many wonderful things to see here in the Turks and Caicos Islands…..every time you turn around there’s something new to photograph.
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com
Tags: Clibanarius Tricolor, crab, Crabs, intertidal rocks, Osprey Rock, shell, Shells, South West Harbour Bluff, subtidal rocks, Three Colour Blue Hermit crab, tidal pools, TriColour Blue Hermit Crab
Posted in Animals, Crabs, Crustaceans, Flora and Fauna, Places to go, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, Underwater, What to do | No Comments »
Sunday, May 17th, 2009
In Blue Hills, a local cleans a King Helmet shell so that it's ready for sale.
Piles of conch shells lie in the waters by Da Conch Shack in Blue Hills. In amongst them there were a few King Helmet Shells which seem to be much rarer than the Queen Conchs. I’m noticing more and more of these shells and Triton shells being harvested and sold in various places on Providenciales.
Low tide had exposed the piles of conch shells lying in the waters
It was low tide at the beach in Blue Hills where piles of conch shells lay in the water. I guess they get cleaned and sold by beach vendors. Behind the shells, you can see the pen containing live conch that supplies Da Conch Shack.
Taste some conch while in Blue Hills………right on the water!
Marta
http://www.diving.tc
Tags: beach, Beaches, Blue Hills, conch shell, Da Conch Shack, King Helmet, King Helmet shell, queen conch, shell, Shells, Triton, Triton Shell
Posted in Beaches, Conch, Flora and Fauna, Places to eat, Places to go, Providenciales, Restaurants, Shells, Turks and Caicos Islands, What to do | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
These two young local boys in Blue Hills were showing off a beautiful conch shell that they wanted to sell.
Blue Hills is another of my favourite areas where there’s always something great to photograph. These guys were on the beach by Da Conch Shack selling conch shells that they had cleaned.
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com
Tags: beach, Beaches, Blue Hills, conch shell, conch shells, Da Conch Shack, shell, Shells
Posted in Beaches, Conch, Places to go, Providenciales, Shells, Turks and Caicos Islands | No Comments »
Thursday, April 9th, 2009
The beautiful richly brown and mottled shell of the Hawksbill turtle's shell was prized for tortoiseshell used for decorative purposes
The Hawksbill turtle is easy to identify as it has a very distinctive sharp curving beak much like a hawk. The boney plates of the shell streaked with amber, yellow and brown are greatly enhanced when polished and worked upon and thus the only source of tortoise shell.
The distinctive "hawk" like beak of the Hawksbill turtle
In some countries the shell is still used to make hair ornaments, jewelry, and other decorative items and therefore they are on the critically endangered list.
Look at the wonderful colours in the shell of the Hawksbill turtle
Look for the Hawksbill turtle as you snorkel the coral reefs and waters of the Turks and Caicos on your next island vacation.
Marta
http://www.diving.tc
Tags: coral reef, Diving, Hawksbill, hawksbill turtle, scuba, Scuba Diving, shell, snorkel, Snorkeling, tortoise shell, Turks and Caicos, turtle, Turtles, White House Reef
Posted in Animals, Beaches, Diving, Flora and Fauna, Places to go, Providenciales, Scuba Diving, Shells, Snorkeling, Turks and Caicos Islands, Turtles, Underwater | No Comments »