Curator’s Corner

Museum, research, and collection updates from Dr. José H. Leal, plus Shell of the Week, which highlights a different species every other Friday. Most Shells of the Week are found in Southwest Florida.

Dr. José H. Leal serves as the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium’s Science Director and Curator. He received his Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Fisheries from the University of Miami and has served at the Museum since 1996.

Join Me for a Unique Galapagos Adventure

The National Shell Museum and Aquarium is organizing a trip to the Galapagos Islands in September 2024, and I will have the honor to lead mollusk observations and present talks (among other activities during the trip) in that unique journey of exploration. The Galapagos Islands are famous for their role in the development of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which ultimately became one of the solid foundations of our current understanding of evolution. Due to their origin and type of

Southwest Florida Shells Guide Remodeled!

The National Shell Museum is proud to announce that, as of January 1, 2024, a new version of its Shell Guide has been released. The online guide was created and is maintained by the Museum’s Science Director and Curator Dr José H. Leal. It currently features 401 species of shallow-water marine mollusks from the area between Tampa Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands. “Southwest Florida Shells” has been for many years the main identification resource used for the area by marine biologists, conservati

Shell of the Week: The Deep-water Dove Snail

Astyris profundi is a small gastropod that reaches about 8 mm (about 0.31 inch). The species is found in depths between 200 and 500 meters (about 657 and 1640 feet). Its shell is relatively smooth, with most of the sculpture limited to spiral threads around the base and around the siphonal canal (the “bottom” of the shell in the images). The shell is clear, somewhat translucent. The Deep-water Dove Snail is found from off North Carolina to northern Cuba, and the species apparently is not found i

The Gills of Bivalves

Did you know that the gills of mollusks are called ctenidia? Ctenidia (singular ctenidium) consist of filaments arranged in comb- or feather-like structures. In aquatic mollusks, the ctenidia are the main respiratory organs, absorbing oxygen dissolved in the water for the metabolic functions of those animals.The vast majority of bivalves are filter-feeding species: they strain the water to capture their food, usually microalgae or other types of microorganisms. In an interesting twist of evoluti

Shell of the Week: The Knave Marginella

Prunum torticulum Dall, 1881, is a small gastropod that reaches only 11.5 mm. The species can be distinguished from other species of Prunum by its unusual aspect (the word torticulum derives from the Latin word for “crooked,” “twisted,” or “arched”). In the original description of the species, Smithsonian zoologist William Healey Dall observed that “the twist gives the shell a very peculiar and highly characteristic appearance.” In addition to that, the shell spire is usually covered with a rela

The Florida Regal Doris

Felimare picta is one of the nudibranch sea slugs (shell-less gastropods with external gills) found offshore along Sanibel Island and other parts of Southwest Florida. Reaching 13 cm (about 5.1 inches), it is one of the largest nudibranch species in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is also one of the most attractive, showing an elegant color pattern of yellow lines and elliptical markings against a dark blue, sometimes almost black, background. The gills are visible as a set of feather-like projec

Shell of the Week: The Measled Cowrie

Macrocypraea zebra is one of the few species of cowries found in the western Atlantic. Its shell may grow to 133 mm (inches). The species has a very large latitudinal (north to south) distribution, occurring from North Carolina in the USA to Santa Catarina State in Brazil. The Measled Cowrie has a distinctive color pattern of white spots superimposed on an underlying pattern of spiral bands. The spiral bands are seen clearly in images B and C (below), which show shells at two different juvenile

2023 Bivalves Workshop: A Success Story

On November 8-10, I taught the 2023 Marine Bivalves workshop, promoted by the Florida Association of Aquatic Biologists (FAB) at the University of Tampa’s Marine Science Field Station, in Tampa. The workshop dealt with the natural history and identification of local marine bivalve mollusks. The 2.5-day event was attended by marine biologists from, among other institutions, the University of Tampa, University of South Florida, United States Geological Survey, and Smithsonian Marine Station at For

Shell of the Week: The White-spot Dove Snail

Mitrella ocellata is a small (13 mm, or 0.5 inch) marine snail from the dove snail family Columbellidae. Its shell shows a color pattern of white spots set on a chestnut-brown background, and a set of denticles on the outer shell lip. The species is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean from east Florida to southeastern Brazil. The species is found also on the mid-Atlantic oceanic islands of Trindade, Ascension, and Santa Helena. Illustration by James F. Kelly.#mitrellaocellata #mwhitespo

Shell of the Week: The Gulf Stream Miter

Isara straminea is a predatory gastropod of the miter family Mitridae that reaches 30 mm (about 1.2 inches). The species is found in relatively shallow water from off North Carolina, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, south to southeastern Brazil. The shell has a characteristic sculpture of revolving spiral cords, and is usually white or white with large, irregular light-brown spots. The illustration was created by Chris Kovaz for the Museum’s Digital Imaging Project.#isarastraminea #gulfstreammiter #mi