Marine
snails belonging to the family
Olividae. These elongate shells are usually polished and brightly colored, and tend to have an enlarged body
whorl that conceals prior
volutions.
The snail is
carnivorous feeding only at night and remains hidden during the day by burrowing into the sand. They prefer
bivalves such as oysters and clams, but also eat
marine worms. Olives have a characteristicly large
mantle that surrounds the shell when extended (hence the polished shell) and is used to grasp and pull their prey under the sand to be digested.
The Lettered Olive,
Oliva Sayana, became the official shell of the
South Carolina in 1984. It was found and named by
conchologist Dr. Edmund Ravenel of
Charleston, South Carolina in 1834.