appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP Reporter

All kinds of shells are washed up on Hong Kong's shoreline. If you search carefully, especially after storms or high tides, you will find a treasure trove.

   Start building your own collection of shells of different shapes, sizes and colours. But do not collect living shells.

   After cleaning them, look them up in a book like Hong Kong Seashells and classify them, noting the date and place where they were found.

   Keep them away from direct sunlight and put fragile specimens in boxes.

  Big Wave Bay and Clearwater Bay are good beaches on which to search for shells.

  Sea snails have different shapes according to habitat. Those on sandy shores usually have a long shell to keep them steady on the unstable sand.

   Those found in rocky crevices are small and flattened, while those on the seabed are usually rounded and heavy.

 Mussels are bivalve shellfish, found on rocky shores at low tide. Although their shells are strong enough to protect them from big waves, they are no good against such predators as drilling snails or the shell- cracking rock crab.

  The hermit crab moves around with its home on its back. It lives in a shell borrowed from a snail, as its own body is very soft.

  When it grows too big for the shell, it looks for a bigger one.

  Barnacles are small animals whose hard shells are made up of interlocking plates. They cement themselves to rocks and can withstand crashing waves.

WWF HK is a charity environmental organisation. Its mission is to build a future in which people can live in harmony with nature. For further information, please call 2526 1011 



Hong Kong's beaches treasure trove of shells