Gastropod graveyard

[Robert Sobczak]

Usually you expect to see these
at the beach, not in the swamp.

Not surprisingly, it was dead:

See for yourself in Go Hydrology!  

[Swamp Hunter]

Fresh water clam?  This is beyond my knowlege but I remember seeing tons of little quarter size clamshells in the Turner River streambed upstream north of the Trail. 

 

I dont remember seeing any live Apple Snails lately but Im sure I have, but cant remember where. Possibly on cattails.because thats where I always see eggs. A snail needs a smooth surface. 

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/29411257@N00/4596913146/

 

Tree snails like the smooth bark of Wild Tamarind trees in the island hammocks. But its not good to remove them. I think they create a suction and sort of hibernate thru the dry season.

[Kim Gass]

Perhaps picked up by a gull who got into an altercation with another bird and dropped it?

[Robert Sobczak]

That could be the case.  I didn't scour the area in search of more but will next time I'm there.

[Amazon Bill]

In my freshwater lake in Lake Worth, there are lots of mollusk type clams in the sand. The dead ones near shore I think are eated by the raccoons or birds. They are about 2-3 inches long, 1-1.5 inches wide with a black shell. Just like the kind in the pasta at the Itallian cafe. Before they sprayed the banks there were loads of freshwater shrimps and a few crawdaddys.

[Robert Sobczak]

There's more of a mollusk community out there than we know.  At some of our culverts, where flow is high, there are shell beds on the downstream side.  I've since found out they are exotics, but still.