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.
Lirophora paphia is a member of the venus clam family Veneridae that may reach 35 mm (about 1.4 inches) in length. Its shell valves are relatively thick and adorned with 10–15 prominent ridges. The shell color is white, often superimposed with a pattern of zigzag or triangular markings. The species is found from Florida south to Rio de Janeiro State in Brazil. #lirophorapaphia #chionepaphia #veneridae #kingclam #sombrerokey #floridakeys
This past weekend (April 20-21), Science Director and Curator Dr. José H. Leal attended the 2024 Northeast Natural History Conference in Albany, New York. José participated in a session titled “Frontiers in Marine Invertebrate Digitization”, organized by Drs. Liz Shea and Gary Rosenberg. The session was designed to promote the use of natural history collections by those working in environmental sciences, ecology, and biodiversity. The presenters are researchers involved in two National Science F
Reaching only about 48 mm (1.89 inches), Pitar fulminatus has an inflated shell, with a sculpture of crowded growth lines. Its color is white or chalky-white with yellowish-brown zigzag or lightning-like markings. The Lightning Pitar is a member of the highly diverse family Veneridae, the venus clams. The species is found from North Carolina to both coasts of Florida, and Bermuda.#pitarfulminatus #lightiningpitar #veneridae #sanibel
On March 14, underwater photographer Ariane Dimitris took pictures of a couple of living Cyphoma mcginty off Pompano Beach, east coast of Florida. To me, the McGinty Cyphoma is the most attractive among the several species of the genus Cyphoma found in the western Atlantic. I love the color pattern of its mantle (flap of skin that makes and covers the shell), with its round pink-gray spots. The photo above shows the anterior part of the snail with the siphon in the center (Thanks to Ariane for
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) just released its annual list of the top-ten marine species described during 2023. A call for nominations was announced in December 2023, sent to all editors of WoRMS and editors of major taxonomy journals, and posted openly on the WoRMS website and social media so anyone had the opportunity to nominate their favorite marine species. Nominated species must have been described between January 1st and December 31st, 2023, and have come from the marine e
Cerithium eburneum Bruguière, 1792 reaches 43 mm (1.7 inches). Its shell sculpture consists of knobby spiral cords and occasional varices indicative of growth stops. The number of small knobs or beads in the spiral cords is extremely variable in this species. The color is white, sometimes with irregular light-brown areas. The species is found in the Gulf of Mexico and from the east coast of Florida south to the Caribbean and to northeastern Brazil. Lori Campbell found the juvenile shell illustra
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