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.
Congratulations to the Sanibel Captiva Shell Club and to all involved in the planning and execution of the comprehensive and super well-attended 2024 Sanibel Shell Show at the Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort. It was the best shell show I’ve took part in and one for the record books!
Panopea bitruncata is a large bivalve closely related to the famous Pacific Geoduck (Panopea generosa). The Atlantic species is very uncommon.Geoducks (goo·ee·duhks) are members of the bivalve family Hiatellidae. They live buried in mud, have long siphons that cannot fully retract into the shell, and a shell with valves that do not completely shut when joined together. The maximum reported length for the Atlantic Geoduck is 190 mm (7.48 inches), and the single valve in the second image (above),
The Fort Myers News-Press / Naples Daily News is publishing a series of articles to celebrate Shell Week (week of the Shell Show and Shell Festival). Last Wednesday’s article highlights work done in the collection department of the Museum. We are very happy with the opportunity, given that natural history collections usually don’t receive much airtime in the media. Thanks to News-Press staff, and in particular to Amy Williams, Mark Bickel, and Andrew West. Read the article here.
During a recent Sanibel Shell Club field trip to a fossil pit in Punta Gorda (Charlotte County, Florida) led by Florida Museum’s own Roger Portell, Sabine Pratsch found this large but damaged Lobatus leidyi shell. Adult shells of this fossil species have a flared outer lip (like a Milk or Queen Conch), but this adult shell apparently had its flared outer lip broken off at some point. But what is really interesting about the shell is that a few barnacles were able to grow onto it (arrows), in the
Pazinotus bowdenensis (E. H. Vokes, 1970), reaches about 14 mm (about 0.6 inch) in height. It shows a sculpture of about 6–7 strong varices per whorl. The varices bear prominent, curved spines on whorl shoulders. The color is whitish to cream-yellow, but some shells can be translucent and very delicately colored. The species was first named by Emily Vokes from a single fossil shell from the Bowden Formation (late Pliocene) in Jamaica but has since been found living off western Florida and Alabam
Conus granulatus is an attractive cone snail that grows up to at least 64 mm (about 2.5 inches). Its shell shows spiral ridges that may or not bear granular bumps (hence the scientific name of the species). The background color is orange-red with one or more broad spiral brown bands, with variations in intensity of these colors. The species is found throughout the Caribbean Sea, including the Bahamas, and off the east coast of Florida and the Florida Keys.#conusgranulatus #gloryoftheatlanticcone
I had a great early-morning beach walk on Valentine’s Day at Sanibel’s Lighthouse Beach with journalists Andrew West and Mark Bickel, working on a Fort Myers News-Press article about mollusks and shelling. The clam shells in the photo above, mostly Disk Dosinias, Calico Scallops, and Giant Cockles were being moved by miniature waves, one by one, from the water to that wrack line! We could actually see (and discuss) the process of shells coming ashore just before our eyes! It was a beautiful day,
Dr M.G. “Jerry” Harasewych is a research zoologist emeritus and former curator of mollusks at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. He is also the author of several books on shells and a former member of the National Shell Museum and Aquarium board of trustees. His latest creation is a volume covering the great diversity found in the phylum Mollusca, showing examples from all molluscan classes. The illustrations are fantastic, and the natural history information, inclu
Conus regius is one of the most common species of cone snails present along the east coast of Florida and the Keys. Reaching circa 75 mm (3 inches) in height, the shell has a spire adorned with small knobs that impart the look of a crown to the “top” of the shell. The color patterns are variable, with most specimens showing a combination of broad brown spiral bands and brownish flecks set on a white background. Some specimens, however, can be paler, with yellow-brown markings and sometimes almos
Florida United Malacologists (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. The annual event is turning 14 years of age this year! The first FUM was held at the National Shell Museum in 2010, following a suggestion by the late Alan Gettleman and Phyllis Diegel. Since then, the Museum has hosted FUM every even-numbered year. In odd-numbered years, FUM was hosted by the