Flyspeck Cerith
Cerithium muscarum
Markings and exact colorations may vary.
A slim, beaded cerith peppered with tiny dark dots.
- Typical size
- 0.5–1 in
- How often it turns up
- Common
- Collecting
- Restricted
- Handling
- Safe to handle
Empty shells are fine to keep on most public beaches. Live shelling is banned in Lee County and Florida state parks and needs a fishing license elsewhere — if an animal is inside, put it back.
How to tell it apart
- Tall, slender spire
- Beaded axial ribs
- Grey-white with tiny dark brown flyspeck dots
Where to find these in Florida
Beaches rated very good or excellent for shells. Each page shows today’s score, the best window and access details.
- Anclote Key Preserve State Park · Tarpon Springs
- Bean Point · Anna Maria
- Beer Can Island (Greer Island) · Longboat Key
- Boca Grande Public Beach · Boca Grande
- Bowman's Beach · Sanibel
- Captiva Beach · Captiva
- Cayo Costa State Park · Cayo Costa
- Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park · Naples
- Don Pedro Island State Park · Cape Haze
- Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park · St. George Island
- Gasparilla Island State Park · Boca Grande
- Gulfside City Park (Algiers Beach) · Sanibel
Found one?
Photograph it and BeachNut ranks the likely matches with a confidence read, then logs it to your collection with the beach and date.
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Commonly confused with
Florida CerithCerithium atratum
Flyspeck cerith is smaller and peppered with dark dots; Florida cerith is larger and more mottled.
More shells in the field guide
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