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.

The Rosy Wolf Snail

The Rosy Wolf Snail, Euglandina rosea (Férrusac, 1818), is a land snail native to Central America and parts of the southeastern United States, including Florida. This mollusk-eating species was intentionally introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the mid-20th century, in a failed and disastrous attempt to eradicate the invasive Giant African Snail, Lissachatina fulica (Férrusac, 1821). The introduced species did not accomplish what was expected: the Giant African Snail continued to thrive in Hawa

Our New Parking Lot

The Museum renovation is proceeding within schedule. The new parking lot has been graded, paved, and is basically ready for use. Plans for the renovation do not include expansion beyond the original Museum and parking lot footprint; those of you who remember the original boundaries of the parking lot will notice that these were not affected or modified. Click here to help us get the renovation project across the finish line!

Meet the Digital Imaging Specialists

James Kelly and Patricia Starkey (left and center, with José H. Leal) work at the Museum shooting photos of collection specimens for our 2.5-year Digital Imaging Project. The project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, aims to increase accessibility of collection items via our online catalog and other web resources. James and Patricia both have backgrounds in photography and data management, and area super-proficient in the different computer applications involved in digital

COA Convention Next Week!

The 2019 Convention of Conchologists of America honors the 100th Birthday of noted malacologist and our Museum’s Founding Director Robert Tucker Abbott. The activities will begin this Monday, June 17, with field trips. On Tuesday, the Museum is offering a Welcome Reception to registered participants (at the Sanibel Community House). The proceeds will end on Sunday, June 23. Learn more about the 2019 COA Convention here.

Shell of the Week: The Striate Tellin

Measuring at most 20 mm (about 0.8 inch), Serratina aequistriata (Say, 1824) is one of the smallest species of the diverse family Tellinidae occurring on the coast of Southwest Florida. Its shell is thin, delicate, with a sculpture of equally spaced commarginal (“concentric”) lines. As with other tellins, the shell typically has radial ridges on its posterior end, two on the right valve and one on the left. The shell in the photo was collected by Susan J. Hewitt in December 2014, at Blind Pass o

Shell of the Week: The Blake Vitrinella

Solariorbis blakei (Rehder, 1944), is another local member of the microgastropod family Tornidae. Larger shells of the species reach only 1.5 mm (about 0.06 inch), but the shell in the images measures only 1 mm! Its shell is flattened, compressed, with the spire projecting ever so slightly in the early whorls. The shell sculpture consists mostly of wavy axial ridges located near the suture (area where two whorls meet) and shell base. The umbilicus is present, but narrow. The Blake Vitrinella has

The Properties of Fossil Cephalopod Shells

Among the 800+ species of modern cephalopods, only the five Nautilus species have external shells. But, in the distant geological past, most cephalopods had heavy, large, chambered shells that, like the Nautilus shells, allowed them to regulate their buoyancy and orientation in the water. David J. Peterman of Wright State University and his collaborators recently published a comprehensive article in Palaeontologia Electronica suggesting that distinct groups of long-extinct cephalopods differed

A Shelly Worm Tube

Early this week, Museum staff member Austin Salender found a 40 mm (about 1.6 inch) piece of a Plumed or Ornate Worm (Diopatra cuprea) tube (photo), during one of the Museum’s Beach Walks at Island Inn on Sanibel. Pieces of Plumed Worm tubes are common on our beaches. They are usually covered with seaweed, shell fragments, tiny pebbles, sand grains, pieces of coral, and other marine debris that the worm picks up from its environment and attaches to its tube, which consists mostly of polyssacha

Shell of the Week: The Jeanne Vitrinella

Cyclostremiscus jeannae Pilsbry & McGinty, 1946, is another very small local microgastropod in the family Tornidae. The rarely exceeds 2 mm (0.08 inch) in diameter, is flattened, compressed, with a sculpture of three strong spiral keels. The shell base is clearly delimited by the “lower” peripheral keel, with another keel delimiting the relatively large umbilicus. Shell color is white. The species was named after the late malacologist and specialist in Southwest Florida mollusks Dr. Jeanne S. Sc

The Secret Life of “Sea Pork”

A common find on the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva, particularly after winter storms, ascidians, also known as “sea squirts” or “sea pork,” are among the most common subjects of inquiries about sea life by island visitors and Museum guests. Recently, I had a chance to pitch in with some information about the subject for the cool online blog Atlas Obscura. Read Jessica Leigh Hester’s article about “sea pork” here. (Photo of Aplidium stellatum near Destin, Florida by Rebekah Danielle Wallace, Un