Page 5 - Best Of Local Mag June24 Edition

What Shell is That? A brief guide to molluscs of Moreton
Bay (July 2022) was compiled by Hayley
Have you ever walked along the beach, picked up a shell, Parfitt, Fisheries Queensland, and Dr John
and wondered what its name was? Healy, Queensland Museum. © State
of Queensland, 2022. The Queensland
Government supports and encourages
Mollusca are animals that have a soft body, no spine, and
is often covered with a shell. Marine mollusca such as mud the dissemination and exchange of its
information.
arks, pearl oysters (quampie), razor clams, orange cockles,
wedge clams, Venus clams, pipis (eugaries), mud whelks, Dr John Healy is also a member of the
sand snails and rock oysters may be found along the Brisbane Shell Club, which has an excellent
shoreline of Moreton Bay at low tide. More often than not website — Shells of South East Queensland
the shells are empty. — with beautiful photographs of the shells
of many species taken by the club secretary,
According to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Tim Murrell.
and the Queensland Museum, “Moreton Bay is home to
an estimated 350 species of bivalve molluscs and 1023 Fun Fact: The Netherlands has been
species of gastropod molluscs. Aside from being a food participating in Mussel Count Day since 2022.
source for a vast array of other animals (e.g. fish, birds, Last year, more than a thousand enthusiastic
crustaceans), molluscs play key roles in marine ecosystems participants counted and identified almost
… most bivalves filter their food from the ocean and by 35,000 mussels despite the bad weather. People
so doing cleanse the water of suspended particles.” Many also went to the beaches in Belgium and France
marine gastropods “are predators of other invertebrates, on the official shell counting day, where more
some clean up decomposing organisms and many graze than 80,000 shells were found along 400 km of
on algae or feed on organic surface deposits.” All “are truly the North Sea coast.
vital to the continuing health of Moreton Bay.”
Contact the Environmental Sustainability
In 2022 the Queensland Government published ‘A brief Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) if you are
guide to molluscs of Moreton Bay’. It is a quick read (mostly interested in learning more about local seashells
pictures and dot points). Even after a cursory look you and to be a part of our Moreton Bay seashell
should be able to identify most of the shells you pick up. counting and identifying initiative.

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