Seashell sizes

Seashell sizes span an incredible range, from microscopic to over a meter long.

The overall size range is:

• World Records (Largest): The largest mollusks produce shells that can be truly immense. Currently WRS-Shells lists more than 400 seashells over 200mm.
• Common Sizes: The majority of shells you might typically find or collect on a beach fall into a range of 1 to 12 inches (2.5 to 30 cm), with many popular species like the Queen Conch growing up to 10 inches (25 cm).
• Smallest: Some of the smallest mollusk shells, particularly those belonging to certain species of snails (like micro-mollusks found in sand), can have an average height of less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inches). Many shells you find on the beach are tiny, ranging from 3 mm to 10 mm (less than half an inch). There are currently over 700 seashells under 3mm listed on WRS-Shells.com.

In summary, seashells range from objects barely visible to the naked eye (sub-millimeter) to massive structures over a meter long. WRS-Shells database includes more than 52,000 of the largest and smallest seahells.