Author Archives: José H. Leal

The Variable Cerith

The Variable Cerith, Cerithium lutosum Menke, 1828, is most likely the rarest of the local shallow-water ceriths (family Cerithiidae). At 13 mm (about 0.5 inch), it may also be the smallest local member of the family. The shell is adorned with a nodulose sculpture, with an oval aperture with poorly defined anterior and posterior canals. The color is very variable, usually brown, dark-brown, blackish, or mottled with white flecks. The aperture white inside. The shell illustrated is one of two fou

The Gold-line Marginella

The Gold-line Marginella, Dentimargo aureocinctus (Stearns, 1872), is a close relative of the locally more conspicuous, the Common Atlantic Marginella, Prunum apicinum (Menke, 1828). Both are members of the family Marginellidae, noted for the thick outer lip on the shell of their species. The shell of the Gold-line Marginella, however, differs from the latter species by its smaller size (about 4 mm, or 0.16 inch) and by having a more elongated spire and a single golden-yellow spiral band set aga

The i-Conic Alphabet Cone

With their colorful shells, Alphabet Cones, Conus spurius Gmelin, 1791, are one of the most celebrated local mollusks in Southwest Florida. Alphabet Cones hatch from egg capsules, swim only for a couple of hours at most, then settle to the bottom as young adults. The photos of the larval Alphabet Cones were taken just after hatching and published for the first time in a 2017 American Malacological Bulletin article by National Shell Museum staff (José H. Leal and Rebecca Mensch) in cooperation wi

An Unnamed Dove Snail

Reaching only up to 9 mm (0.35-inch), this dove snail (family Columbellidae) in the genus Costoanachis is found locally (Southwest Florida) in shallow water, among seaweeds and sometimes seagrasses. The species, however, apparently has not been named: in the past, some authors called it Costoanachis sparsa (Reeve, 1859), but this latter species is something else. The shell is glossy, with about 20 narrow, somewhat straight ribs. The ribs are constricted by a number of fine spiral lines, forming

The Gulf Dove Snail

The Gulf Dove Snail, Costoanachis semiplicata (Stearns, 1873), is one of the largest local dove snails (family Columbellidae), reaching about 16 mm (about 0.6 inch). It is also one of the most elegant: its shell is fusiform, slender, with straight sides, with a sculpture of about 12 ribs per shell whorl (one-turn). The shell aperture (opening) is narrow, with denticles (little teeth) on its outer lip. The color is usually light-grayish, or light grayish-brown, with reddish-brown markings. The Gu

The Oyster Dove Snail

At about 6 mm (0.23 inch), the Oyster Dove Snail, Parvanachis ostreicola (G.B. Sowerby III, 1882), is another of the small-size local dove snails (family Columbellidae). Its shell is very similar to that of the Obese Dove Snail, Parvanachis obesa (C.B. Adams, 1845), a species covered in this column in February 2015. This latter species, however, has a more slender shell, lighter color, and less conspicuous spiral cords on the shell sculpture. As other species of the family do, Oyster Dove Snails

The Lunar Dove Snail

The Lunar Dove Snail, Astyris lunata (Say, 1826), is one of the local shallow-water microgastropods associated with seaweed. Living dove snails can be found crawling on clumps of brown algae stranded on Southwest Florida beaches after storms. Its shell rarely surpasses 5 mm (about 0.2 inch), and show a pattern of alternating, sinuous brown and white markings. They are essentially devoid of any sculpture. The live animal (photo on right) was collected by Rebecca Mensch on stranded seaweed, on San

The Pear Whelk

For the last two weeks this column covered the renowned Lightning Whelk, Sinistrofulgur sinistrum. Today I want to introduce its smaller, right-handed cousin, the Pear Whelk, Fulguropsis spirata (Lamarck, 1816). Pear Whelks can reach 15 cm (about 6 inches). The shell is thin, with a long anterior canal and short, flattened spire. The color shows variations around the theme of a cream background with axial (“longitudinal”) brown streaks. The egg cases in this species resemble those of the Lightni

The Lightning Whelk, Part 2

Last week I discussed some of the distinguishing features of and cool facts about the Lightning Whelk, Sinistrofulgur sinistrum (Hollister, 1958). Today I want to explore certain aspects of the reproduction in this celebrated species. As with most of the large, predatory marine snails, Lightning Whelks have separate sexes, and females lay eggs inside protective egg capsules. Each egg capsule may contain a few dozen eggs, and capsules are attached to each other through a string—one string may con

The Lightning Whelk, Part 1

The Lightning Whelk, Sinistrofulgur sinistrum (Hollister, 1958), is one of the local molluscan celebrities, not only because of its large size, but also thanks to very special features that make this species truly remarkable. For instance, unlike most gastropods, which are right-handed, the Lightning Whelk has a left-handed shell (shell opening to the left with shell spire pointing “up”). Abnormally right-handed Lightning Whelks are very uncommon, but may be found on rare occasions. Male individ