Seashell Society Display Cabinets
The Seashell Society Display cabinets are located at the St George Village Botanical Garden on the US Virgin Island of St Croix.
We invite you to visit our displays to learn more about seashells in the Virgin Islands and the world. We hope you will be inspired to appreciate our diverse selection of shells and be part of our team of volunteers and donors. Thank you for your interest and support.
Queen Conch – Territorial Shell
This cabinet contains 11 queen conch shells showing the growth cycle from a 1-¼ inch 4 month old shell to a 9 inch, fully developed 4 year old shell.
Gastropods
- Gastropods are the spiral, shingle valve shells, which usually have the mouth of the shell opening to the right.
- A few species of gastropods have the mouth of the shell opening to the left and are called sinistral shells.
Paper Nautilus
- The Paper Nautilus is not actually a seashell, but the egg case of the Argonaut, a member of the octopus family.
- It does not have the gas-filled chambers present in chambered nautilus shells.
- The female Argonaut secrets the shell before laying her eggs, then lives in the shell to protectthe eggs.
- This shell was donated to us by the Departmentof Planning and Natural Resources.
Bivalves
- Bivalve shells are those with two valves which fit together.
- Bivalves typically do not move around much, though they can burrow themselves into sand, or some can swim by flapping their valves together.
- Some bivalves can cement themselves to the substrate.
- Some bivalves produce threads that bury into the sand to hold the shell in place.
Echinoderms
- Echinoderms are in a different taxonomic group from the rest of the shells in the museum. They are in the phylum echinodermata, meaning spiny skin.
- Included in the case are skeletons of sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea biscuits
- They live only on or in ocean sediments.
- They have a calcareous skeleton.
- They are not aggressive, move slowly, and largely at night.
African Seashells
- The Seashells in this cabinet are from many different parts of the African continent.
- They represent our African heritage on St. Croix.
Worldwide Seashells and Things Made with Seashells
- World Wide Seashells shows the variety of shapes, sizes and color patterns from different parts of the world.
- Most large and colorful shells come from the Pacificand Indian Oceans.
- Things Made With Shells includes jewelry, decorated mirror, salad bowl set, and musical instruments.
Gastropod Family Tree
- The family tree of gastropods shows examples of different orders of shells ranging from the most primitive snails to the most highly evolved.
- Gastropods have a single shell, usually coiled.
- Their bodies have a distinct head with tentacles, foot, a rasping tongue.
