St. Pete shell enthusiasts gather in Seminole for annual Shell Show

The St. Petersburg Shell Club started in 1936 and currently has around 30–35 members.

SEMINOLE, Fla. - Members of shell clubs across the state have a strong passion for the mollusks.

"Shell enthusiasts get together. We talk about shells. We have speakers at our meetings, field trips, things like that, and we're just interested in shells, anywhere from beginners all the way up to PhDs," St. Petersburg Shell Club President John Jacobs said.

The backstory:

The St. Petersburg Shell Club started in 1936 and currently has around 30–35 members.

"The interest, the fascination, shells or mollusks are the second-largest group of animals in the world after insects," Jacobs said.

Some St. Pete shell enthusiasts gathered in Seminole for the annual Shell Show.

The St. Petersburg Shell Club hosted their annual Shell Show in Seminole in February, where many shell collectors and vendors spend two days educating visitors about the variety of mollusks.

"Estimated about 100,000 species living right now, and the numbers keep changing because we keep identifying more," Jacobs said. "They're so numerous, they're all so different from each other. Even within the same species, you get a variety of patterns, colors, even shapes sometimes. So, they're quite variable and that's one reason why they're so fascinating."

Some St. Pete shell enthusiasts gathered in Seminole for the annual Shell Show.

The Suncoast Conchologists Shell Club helps host the show. The club started in 1984 and has around 100 members.

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"The funnest part is, I love when the little kids get involved. We love to get little kids that come in here, and they start to look at shells, and you get to teach these young kids how important a mollusk is, how it builds the shell, you know, how beautiful and pretty colors that it is," Suncoast Conchologists Shell Club President Debi McCreary said.

What's next:

The St. Petersburg Shell Club’s next monthly meeting will be on Friday, May 9. The Suncoast Conchologists Shell Club’s next monthly meeting is on Tuesday, May 6.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Barry Wong.

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