Atlantic Bubble Seashell

The Atlantic bubble seashell is a common seashell on the beaches of Florida. I have found them here and there on all by beachcombing expeditions. They seem to be more abundant on the west coast of Florida, where I have found them in small bunches. On the east coast, where I do most of my beachcombing, it is rare to find them clustered.

These gastropods live inside their round elongated seashells, traveling around in the same manner as land snails do, by coming out of their seashells and slowly crawling along the seafloor.

Like many a sea critter, they spend most of their time searching for something to eat and another of their kind to mate with. They do this while trying to avoid becoming a meal for their own predators.

Size

Most of the bubble seashells I have found while beachcombing have been around ½ inch long. According to the various sources on the internet, they can grow up to 1 1/8” (3.8 cm) in length. The largest I found on the beach measured just under 1 inch long, and I have not found too many at that size. The smaller sizes are much more abundant on the beaches I haunt, suggesting that they die young.

The bubble seashells width is close to ¾ of their length. The ½ inch seashells I measured came out to near 3/8 of an inch wide. This was consistent across all the ones that I measured. The longer they were the wider they also were.

They are about ½ the height of their length. The ½ inch bubble seashell shown here was a bit over ¼ inch in height at the highest point on the seashell. Since they have a rounded, oblong shape the height diminishes toward the ends of the seashell.

Colors and Markings

Atlantic bubble seashell ranges in color from a pale beige to a chocolate brown on the outside surface. 75% of the ones I have found are a slightly dark tan color. The darker colors are in the form of stripes or blotches of color. Makes me think of the camouflage clothing an army soldier uses to try and stay hidden from the enemy.

They have a glossy look which only requires a nice rinse in clean water for it to come out. The underlying seashell is white to almond colored. Along the opening, where the animal goes in and out of its home, is a white stripe.

Some of the beach found seashells have been scoured by sea, sand, sun, and wind. These bubble seashells have lost their glossy coat and have a pale, bleached look to them. They also feel rougher than their glossy companions. Sometimes they have ridges and pockmarks. I have found them to have their beauty – no worse or better than the normal glossy seashells.

Habitat

The gastropod whose home the bubble seashell is, lives in mud and sand near the low tide mark in grassy areas. Sea grass beds and the flats found in estuaries, the outlets of rivers and streams into the ocean, are favorites. At low tide, they can burrow into the mud and sand to take cover from predators. They can also hide themselves under the grass.

A plan for starting your own money earning website plus: hosting, website builder, site submission to search engines, traffic reports, and so much more. Free Info.

an affiliate site.

The Common Atlantic Bubble ranges from North Carolina south to Brazil. They can be found around Bermuda and in the Gulf of Mexico.in estuarine flats and sea grass beds.

Feeding

The Atlantic bubble marine snail is not only a prey species but is itself a predator. It feeds on small mollusks – such as clams, scallops, and oysters. An active night feeder that glides across the surface of the seafloor, it envelops and swallows its prey whole.

As the prey passes down toward the stomach to get digested it is crushed. Strong, shell-like hard plates break up the small mollusks the bubble feeds on.

Breeding

Bubble marine snails, like many snails, have both male and female reproductive organs. These hermaphrodite gastropods fertilize each other’s eggs internally.

Fertilized eggs are laid out in long string like coils of jelly-covered eggs. Each coil can contain thousands of eggs and is usually attached to objects in the area – normally sea grass.

When the eggs hatch the young become part of the plankton stream, drifting around and feeding on smaller stuff. The survivors will eventually head to the seafloor and grow into the bubble snails whose seashells we find on our beaches.

Alias

This bubble seashell is commonly called the Atlantic bubble. Another name for it is the Common Atlantic Bubble. It has also been called the Striate Bubble. It’s formal name is bulla striata umbilicata or bulla striata. It belongs to the gastropod family Bullidae.

If you’d like more information, especially with scientific terms and detail, do a search using the term bulla striata.

Shell Crafts

Bubble seashells are very useful in shell crafts. One of my favorites uses for them is in making Marblehead Angel refrigerator magnets.

Marblehead Angel with Bubble seashell body

Return to Beachcombing Page

an affiliate site