Shell Life on the Seashore

Illustrations by Amanda Dilworth taken from Shell Life on the Seashore by Philip Street, first published in 1962 and reissued in August 2019 with a fold-out jacket and a new introduction by Philip Hoare.

Shells not shown to scale

1 Common limpet (Patella vulgata)
2 Blue-rayed limpet (Patella pellucida)
3 Keyhole limpet (Diodora graeca)
4 Coat-of-mail shell (Lepidochitona cinerea)
5 Small periwinkle (Melarhaphe neritoides)
6 Flat periwinkle (Littorina obtusata)
7 Rough periwinkle (Littorina saxatilis)
8 Common periwinkle (Littorina littorea)
9 Thick top shell (Phorcus lineatus)
10 Flat top shell (Steromphala umbilicalis)
11 Grey top shell (Steromphala cineraria)
12 Painted top shell (Calliostoma zizyphinum)
13 Pheasant shell (Tricolia pullus)
14 Wentletrap (Epitonium clathrus)
15 Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus)
16 Sting winkle (Ocenebra erinaceus)
17 Slipper limpet (Crepidula fornicata)
18 Netted dog whelk (Tritia reticulata)
19 Common whelk (Buccinum undatum)
20 Cowrie (Trivia monacha)
21 Blunt bubble shell (Retusa obtusa)
22 Elephant’s tusk shell (Antalis entalis)
23 Common mussel (Mytilus edulis)
24 Fan mussel (Atrina fragilis)
25 Native oyster (Ostrea edulis)
26 Saddle oyster (Anomia ephippium)
27 Edible scallop (Pecten maximus)
28 Common cockle (Cerastoderma edule)
29 Ocean quahog (Arctica islandica)
30 Heart cockle (Corculum cardissa)
31 Striped venus (Chamelea striatula)
32 Speckled carpet shell (Venerupis corrugata)
33 Thick trough shell (Spisula solida)
34 Purple-toothed wedge shell (Donax vittatus)
35 Thin tellin (Macomangulus tenuis)
36 Large sunset-shell (Gari depressa)
37 Furrow shell (Scrobicularia plana)
38 Common piddock (Pholas dactylus)
39 Common gaper (Mya arenaria)
40 Razor shell (Ensis ensis)
41 Common cuttle (Sepia officinalis)
42 Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)