Hi Folks A little information on the Slipper Shell First off, it is a snail (Crepidula fornicata) (creeping dueler wearing slippers) and feeds on scraping algae off its rock. It moves so little that the edge of the shell conforms to the contour of the rock. If it ever falls of it is as good as dead. When you see them stacked upon each other (hence fornicata) the top one is a male the bottom one is female and the one’s in between are hermaphrodites. They appear to be very abundant based upon the shells washed upon the beach. One only sees live ones when the stones they are attached to gets washed up after a storm. Often the algae Ulva will get attached to the rock which makes it even more likely to be caught by waves (like a sail). Once on shore it may take a day or two for them to die. In autumn, after a big storm, the nesting bar at Milford Pt. is littered with them. They are a popular food. I have seen shorebirds (Dunlin, Sanderling, and Ruddy Turnstone most frequently) as well as gulls feed on them. I have even seen Boat-tailed Grackles feed on them. I wonder if they are edible for people? it would be an interesting study to see the significance of this species in the shore community. Dennis Varza Fairfield