Prickly Cockle
Dallocardia muricata
Markings and exact colorations may vary.
A small cockle whose ribs carry tiny spines, giving it a rough, prickly feel.
- Typical size
- 1–2 in
- How often it turns up
- Common
- Collecting
- Restricted
- Handling
- Safe to handle
Florida allows no live shelling in many counties and parks. If the animal is still inside, photograph it and put it back where you found it.
How to tell it apart
- Short spines along the radiating ribs
- Yellow, rose or brown blotches
- Rounded outline, under two inches
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.
Browsing beaches and the full field guide is free. A free account logs unlimited finds and gives you three photo identifications a day.
Commonly confused with
Florida Prickly CockleTrachycardium egmontianum
Florida prickly cockle is taller with a salmon-to-purple inside; yellow prickly cockle is rounder with a yellowish inside.
More shells in the field guide
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