Shells

Shells, a New Book by Fabio Moretzsohn

Published posthumously, “Shells” delivers great and current information on shells and the animals that make them. The 176-page volume would have been released three years after the untimely passing of my friend and colleague Dr Fabio Moretzsohn in early 2020. Fabio was an Assistant Professor at Texas AM in Corpus Christi, Texas. There is a wealth of data in his book on intriguing aspects of the biology and ecology of mollusks, and thorough coverage of little-known information on cultural and spi

Shell of the Week: The Dietz Rose Corbula

Caryocorbula dietziana is a small (reaching 15 mm, or 0.6-inch) bivalve of a family notorious for their difficult and confusing taxonomy, the Corbulidae, also known as Basket Clams. Its shell has the posterior ridge typical of the family. Like in most other corbulid species, the right valve is larger than the left one, and this difference is accentuated in this species as the clam grows older, which renders a gnarly aspect to those shells. The Dietz Rose Corbula may be rose, whitish, or cream-co

Mollusks: More Than A Shell

Don't miss the new episode of Changing Seas! Seashells, with their beautiful shapes and colors, have inspired humans since the dawn of time. Equally fascinating are the mollusks that make them, and their unique place in the web of life. Researchers and citizen scientists continue to make new discoveries, while a cutting-edge digital project makes vast research collections easily accessible online. In case you missed the premiere of the first episode of the fifteenth series of Changing Seas on WP

Shell of the Week: The Bleeding Tooth

Nerita peloronta is one of the iconic Florida shells, mostly due to splash of red color on the parietal shield, which, combined with the tooth-like projections on that area, gives the species its common name. The Bleeding Tooth can reach 47 mm (about 1.9 inches), has a thick, globose shell with sculpture of low spiral cords, and white color with grayish or dark-gray streaks. The operculum is hard, calcified, with pustules on the attachment surface. The species is found on the intertidal (between

Mollusks in “Changing Seas”

Early this Summer, the TV series “Changing Seas”, presented by WBPT-2 (South Florida PBS) station will feature an entire episode dedicated to mollusks and their shells, introducing the National Shell Museum as one of the relevant expert institutions. For now, check excerpts of the episode in the series of social media posts titled “Shells with Doc José Leal” featured in the “Changing Seas” and National Shell Museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages.@changingseas #changingseas https://www.facebook.c

Wrapping Up “Shell and Tell”

As the National Shell Museum reaches the crucial stage of its post-Hurricane Ian reconstruction period and once again closes its doors to the visiting public, time has come to thank the volunteers that staffed the Shell and Tell presentation on the second floor of the Museum. Starting last February 1st, when the Museum reopened temporarily, Kathy Kenley, Linda Kramer, Angela Marsland, Ann Moeder, brothers Cabe and Holt Rieck, and Karen Turner took turns bringing the program to fruition with dedi

Wing Oysters and Sea Fans

Wing (or Winged) oysters get their common name from the wing-like expansions on their shells, also known as "auricles". The shells of young individuals show relatively larger auricles when compared to those of adults. The internal shell surface is nacreous, or pearl-like. Wing oysters and pearl oysters are members of the family Pteriidae and are not very closely related to true (edible) oysters, which belong in the family Ostreidae. Atlantic Wing Oysters, Pteria colymbus, are commonly found livi

Nature, Red in Tooth and Claw

The above expression, immortalized by Lord Tennyson in his poem, “In Memoriam A.H.H.” serves as an appropriate caption for this powerful image by Amy Tripp of a Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis, ready to eat what looks like a Pigmy Octopus, Octopus joubini. But in this case, the metaphor, which embodies the violent nature of predation, should be something like “Nature, clear in beak and claw,” as the “blood” of octopuses is clear-colored, and birds have beaks without teeth. Gulls are basica

Shell of the Week: The Smooth Sundial

Psilaxis krebsii (Mörch, 1875) is a marine snail of the sundial family Architectonicidae that may reach about 14 mm (about 0.5 inch) in diameter. The characteristic “UFO-shaped” shell has slightly convex whorls; the shell surface is basically smooth, except for very weak spiral cords near the shell periphery (the “outer rim” of the shell) and a prominent cord at the periphery. The umbilicus is wide and deep, with the “staircase-like” edge that is typical of many sundial species. The background c

The Allure of Small Size

Micromollusks, by definition, never grow larger than 5 mm (0.2 inches). Despite their small size, micromollusks may have shells as attractive as those of their larger-sized cousins, and have life processes just as complex. Scientific surveys done in different regions of the planet indicate that very large shares of the marine mollusk biodiversity in those areas consist of micromollusks. For instance, on Sanibel and Captiva islands (Florida) alone, there are at least 20 species of vitrinellas (ph