Murexsul oxytatus(M. Smith, 1938) reaches 40 mm (about 1.6 inches). The shell is lozenge-shaped, and the shell sculpture includes about 7–8 raised ribs per whorl, each rib bearing a number of sharp, fluted projections. The color is variable, ranging from white to salmon pink. The interior of the aperture is usually white. #murexsuloxytatus #muricopsisoxytatus #muricidae #hexagonalmurex #pompanobeach
Lithophaga antillarum(d’Orbigny, 1853) reaches 120 mm (about 4.7 inches). The shell is cylindrical, rounded anteriorly, inflated, with brownish, lustrous periostracum (outer shell layer). Giant Date Mussels bore into dead coral or limestone rock. Lithophaga antillarum has a broad distribution in the Gulf of Mexico and the tropical western Atlantic, from the Florida Keys to Brazil, but is not found locally in SW Florida. Given its life habits, this is a difficult species to observe or collect, as
Cyphoma intermedium(G.B. Sowerby I, 1828) reaches about 35 mm (about 1.4 inches). The shell shape is elongate-oval, usually white when found dead, but fresh specimens have orangish shell tinges. Unlike other species in the genus found locally (the Fingerprint Cyphoma, Cyphoma signatum, and McGinty Cyphoma, Cyphoma mcgintyi), the dorsal ridge on the Intermediate Cyphoma is very weak or absent. The columellar fold is pronounced anteriorly and posteriorly. At least one shell of this species was fou
Cyphoma signatumPilsbry and McGinty, 1939 reaches about 40 mm. The elongate shell has blunt ends, Color buff with faint pinkish-orange tinges above and below the whitish dorsal ridge (the transversal “swelling” on the back of the shell.) The mantle of the living snail has elongated black markings set on a yellowish background, the resulting pattern resembling fingerprints. The shell differs from Cyphoma intermedium by more elongate shape, heavier, well-defined dorsal ridge and resulting calluses
Brachycythara biconica (C.B. Adams, 1850) reaches about 6 mm (about 0.25 inch). As the name implies, the shell is shaped like a double cone. The shell is sculptured with about 13–17 axial (“vertical”) ribs per whorl, and is entirely covered with interrupted micro-grooves that impart a “frosted” appearance to the shell. The shell color is cream-white, with a broad light-brown band at mid-whorl and another, narrower, just below the suture. The shell in these images was collected in 1999 by Herb Ch
Last weekend the national media was abuzz with the news that “venomous blue dragons” that “look like mini-Pokémons” were washing ashore along Texas beaches, including those on Padre Island and near Corpus Christi. Blue Dragons, also known as Blue Glaucus (Glaucus atlanticus), are inch-long, blue and white sea slugs that spend their entire lives in open water, floating upside-down just under the water surface. They are part of the neuston ecosystem, the mysterious ecosystem at the ocean’s surface
Natica tedbayeri(Rehder, 1986) reaches about 34 mm (1.34 inch), and has a globose shell with thin walls, umbilicus and callus white, umbilicus deep, filled in part by the white, plug-like callus. Color similar to the Colorful Atlantic Natica, but differing by the “simpler” color pattern of wide tan bands on a white background. The bands are bordered by lines of interrupted dark-brown or orange segments. Shell sculpture lacking, except for faint growth lines.#naticatedbayeri #floridamoonsnail #fl
Amphichama inezae (F.M. Bayer, 1943) reaches about 20 mm (0.8 inch), and has a circular to oval shell with thin, erect, ruffled, commarginal (“concentric”) lamellae present on both valves. The inside areas of the Alabaster Jewelbox shell margins are smooth. The color varies from alabaster to yellowish white. #amphichamainezae #alabasterjewelbox #chamidae #westpalmbeach
After a couple of years of cancellations and postponements, it was fantastic to have Florida United Malacologists (FUM) back at the Museum! We had record attendance for FUM last Saturday, with about 90 participants and 18 presentations! FUM is a one-day gathering that brings together researchers, collectors, citizen scientists, enthusiasts, and students interested in a broad range of mollusk-related topics. This year’s meeting included a wide range of topics and a relatively large number of stu
Caryocorbula contracta (Say, 1822) reaches 10 mm (0.4 inch), has an inequivalve shell (the left and right valves have different sizes). The shell has a pointed posterior region, a well-defined radial fold or ridge is present, sculpture of smooth commarginal ridges, and the shell color is white to light gray. Internally often pinkish, orangish, or yellowish hues. The shell in the image is a single articulated pair, part of a larger collection of loose valves of the same species found by Ken Piech