Southern California Shell Guide

By Kai S., Athena’s Student

Kai is taking Scrutinizing Shells with Prof. Emma and would like to share this amazing creation!

Check out Kai’s description and the project linked below. Bravo, Kai!

Here’s a description from Kai:

“For this project, I collected shells from various beaches across the Southern California
Coastline during low tides and high tides. After collecting, I began to investigate and identify
these shells, using books and guides which I list at the end of my project. I divided the shells I
found into four groups: Bivalves, Snails, Arthropods, and Worms. I was also able to find sea
urchin tests, although they are not listed in the guide. After dividing them into groups, I focused
on describing the basic anatomies of each of them. I describe each shell by using taxonomical
descriptions, common and scientific names, overall description, size, habitat and range.

I found some of these shells to be quite challenging to identify, although I used reliable guides
do base my information. I was also surprised to find that there are very few shell guides which
focus on Southern California. I found this project to be very enjoyable and I plan to continue on
expanding my guide. ”