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.

Shell of the Week: The Alternate-ribbed Scallop

In my opinion, the Alternate-ribbed Scallop, Caribachlamys mildredae(F.M. Bayer, 1941), is one of the most elegant species in the diverse scallop family Pectinidae. The species reaches 40 mm (about 1.6 inches). The anterior auricle (“ear-like” expansion near shell beak) is larger than the posterior one. In addition, the left valve is more compressed than the right one, and the shell sculpture pattern is complex, with ribs on the surface of the left valve bearing distinctive scale-like projection

A Cool Ovulid

Rotaovula hirohitoi is a species of the family Ovulidae (also known as “false cowries”) that inhabits the waters of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean, including the Philippine Islands. The species was named by Cate and Azuma to honor Emperor Hirohito, Japan’s longest-reigning emperor (1926–1989), who was also a marine biologist and malacologist. The delicate, elegant shell is very ornate, with nodules and projections that may impart structural strength. The color pattern includes from two to f

The Flamboyant Cuttlefish

Here are a couple of images of one of our charming Flamboyant Cuttlefish. Unlike most other cephalopods, Flamboyant Cuttlefish, Metasepia pfefferi, are active during the day, hunting small invertebrates. Native to the eastern Indian Ocean and Southwest Pacific, Flamboyant Cuttlefish are highly resilient, and their outgoing behavior and ability to incessantly change color patterns make them one of the favorites with visitors. Visit the Museum’s Living Gallery to learn more about the Flamboyant Cu

Shell of the Week: The Smith Nutmeg

Axelella smithii (Dall, 1888), reaches 17 mm (about 0.7 inches). The shell is relatively thick and the shell sculpture includes about 8–10 raised axial (“vertical”) ribs per whorl. The ribs are separated by wider interspaces, and are crossed by alternating stronger and weaker, raised spiral cords. The color is variable, ranging from whitish-yellow to orangish-brown. The interior of the aperture is usually of lighter color and bears spiral threads. And the protoconch is brown, smooth, bulbous, wi

Shell of the Week: The Hexagonal Murex

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

Shell of the Week: The Giant Date Mussel

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

That Dark Spot in the Eastern Oyster

If you look inside the valve (half-shell) of an Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica, you'll see a large, dark spot (arrows) “engraved” on each half-shell, or valve. That spot is known as a muscle scar, and marks the place where the adductor muscle of the living animal attaches to the inside of each valve. The adductor muscles are used by bivalves such as oysters and clams to close their shells, and to keep them closed for long periods of time. The adductor muscle in oysters is divided into a “

The Southern Flatcoil Snail

Polygyra cereolus (Mühlfeld, 1816), reaches at most 18 mm (about 0.7 inch). The species is found in Florida and other parts of the southeastern US. As the name implies, flatcoil snails have "flat" shells with a relatively large number of tightly coiled whorls. The shell opening bears a characteristic tooth-like projection (see below). The great photo above of a living snail was recently taken by Lorin Buckner in Fort Myers, Florida.#polygyracereolus #southernflatcoil #polygyridae #fortmyers #lan

Shell of the Week: The Intermediate Cyphoma

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

An Invasive Mollusk Makes Headway in the Caribbean: Where Next?

For the last few months, internet resources such as iNaturalist, have reported on the presence and relatively quick proliferation of a non-indigenous mollusk, the Thrush Cowrie, (Naria turdus), in the greater Caribbean region. The Thrush Cowrie reaches about 38 mm (1.5 inches). Its shell color pattern includes brown spots on the lighter-colored background of the dorsal shell surface. The species name turdus means thrush and derives from a perceived similarity between the color pattern of shell a