Seashell believed from the Pacific washes up on Outer Banks, mystifying park service

Everything from historic ships to World War II mines have washed ashore on the Outer Banks, but the National Park Service says it’s stumped by a bit of beach debris found recently by a curious park visitor.

A mysterious seashell came ashore near the Point at Cape Lookout National Seashore, and a preliminary examination suggests it’s a type of sea snail that doesn’t live in the Atlantic.

It’s 3.5 inches long, yellowish and entirely intact.

“Need a bit of help identifying this shell. I think it’s a Cone Snail shell, but cannot find anything resembling it in the shell ID books for this area,” park officials wrote on Facebook.

“Most cone snails apparently live in the Indo-Pacific region and not along the North Carolina coast. Any ideas?”

The Indo-Pacific is a broad term for the seas near Indonesia where the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean merge, according to The Diplomat.

A beach comber walking the Point this month started digging after seeing only the tip of the shell sticking out of the sand, the park said on Facebook.

Nearly two dozen people have responded to the post with ideas, some saying they have found similar shells on the Outer Banks. A few suggested it may not be the Pacific cone shell, but is more likely a type of cone better known in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

Cape Lookout officials provided an update on Dec. 26, saying they had yet to hear from an expert but believe it’s possible the shell is a venomous Sozon’s snail’s shell. Sozon’s are found in deep water off the southern and west coast of Florida, along the Gulf of Mexico, park officials said.

“A couple of North Carolina scuba divers responded and say that they often seen cone shells in the piles of dead sea shells that surround the wrecks,” Park Ranger Karen Duggan told McClatchy News.

“Water currents apparently sweep up empty shells of all species and dump them around the wrecks,” she said.

The national park and the adjacent Cape Hatteras National Seashore are known for being among the best places on the East Coast to look for seashells.

Cape Lookout officials posted on Facebook last month that said storm surf had dug into long-buried marsh mud, revealing rare lightning whelk shells that predated current incarnation of the barrier islands.

In September, a 2-pound prehistoric clam shell was found at the park, officials said. It was nearly 6 inches across and deep enough to serve as a bowl.

It is believed storm surf from Hurricane Dorian picked the shell up from the ocean floor and dragged it over the sand bars to shore, the park service said.

This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 7:10 AM with the headline "Seashell believed from the Pacific washes up on Outer Banks, mystifying park service."