Have you ever held a handful of scallop shells and wondered why they are colored differently? Or where the holes in a clam shell came from? And what is a mermaid's purse, exactly? Here's a fun guide ...

Bivalves: clams, scallops, oysters, cockles, and mussels, have rich lives and complex evolutionary histories far beyond the deep-fryer. Here are vignettes of four bivalves that provide a small glimpse ...

Six-year-old Luke Callihan, of Pennington, collects shells on the beach in Brigantine, Sunday, July 2, 2017. (Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) This story was originally published August ...

Ask people who have strolled the Gulf Coast beaches of Florida and they'll tell you "shelling" is a serious pastime, with thousands of beachgoers sifting daily though miles of shells left behind by ...