Image of butterfly shell

Description:

"In Florida these small clams are called ""coquinas"". Elsewhere in the US, other species in the same genus are usually called ""bean clams"". These clams live just under the surface of the sand and can sometimes be seen in great numbers right in the swash zone. After a wave moves the sand and exposes them, these little clams turn on their ends and dig back in again rapidly with their strong foot. Donax variabilis is very common on Sanibel, and the shells can be a myriad of colors, strong or pastel, with or without stripes. They can be white, yellow, orange, red, blue, green, violet, and all the possible pastel versions of those colors. No two are the same."