A Cooky Coastal Creature

 The Lettered Olive

It's hard to see, but it's there.


       The Lettered Olive, or Oliva sayana, is a predatory snail (the picture you see on the left is its shell, the picture you see on the right is the mollusk component with the shell), and South Carolina's state shell! The Lettered Olive looks like an ancient creature, especially considering that it gets its name from markings that bear similarities to Egyptian hieroglyphics—but it wasn't discovered until 1834 by Dr. Edmund Ravenel, a native Charlestonian. While they are common in SC, they are not just found along one state's coast. Rather, they are native to the entire West Atlantic coast.
       The Lettered Olive shell is special to many collectors because of its high luster (which comes from the snail's shell-building tissue), and is a fun find or those who engage in shelling! I grew up with shell display cases around the house (see picture below), because my mother was an avid sheller. Even once my family moved to upstate SC, this shell remained an important reminder of our time on the coast. 


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