ShellSanibel
Read the beach.
True tulip
Fasciolaria tulipa
occasional · 3–6 in (8–15 cm)
How to tell it
Larger and more strongly coloured than the banded tulip — orange, brick and grey mottling with irregular dark spiral threads.
What it gets confused with
Banded tulip. The rule of thumb is tidy thin lines banded, messy mottling true.
Where it turns up
Gulf beaches after weather; less frequent than its banded cousin.
Alive or empty
Often alive. It eats other molluscs, including the banded tulip.
Taking live shells is prohibited in Lee County
That includes anything with the animal still in it, and sand dollars, sea stars and urchins whether or not they look alive. If it moves, if it closes, if it is anchored to the sand — put it back where you found it, the right way up.
A shell with an animal in it is not a souvenir that has been left out. It is the animal’s house, and the beach is not producing spares.