jingle
shells
The jingle shell is part of a bivalve mollusk found on the Atlantic coast of North America. It acts as the top of a double hinged structure that protects the mollusk. After the mollusk is dead, the shell keeps its shiny exterior and the movement of the ocean detaches it from the bottom valve and then the thin, translucent shells are washed onto the beach in the summer months. They litter the shoreline along with kelp and other shells. As the sun hits them they emit a radiance and you can spot easily on an otherwise washed out shoreline.
Commonly referred to as “Mermaids toenails”, jingle shells are found in a variety of iridescent shades that range from pearlescent white, brilliant yellow, marmalade orange and even rare silvery black. Micro photographing and cataloguing these translucent shells illustrates the duality of their fragility and strength. The variations in size and color add to their anomaly in the bivalve genus and let us appreciate the many exceptional forms found in the vast ocean.
