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 Semisulcate Moon Snail

There are locally at least eight shallow-water species of the Moon Snail family Naticidae. The half-inch long Semisulcate Moon Snail, Sigatica semisulcata (J.E. Gray, 1839) is the second smallest of them. (The smallest is the Miniature Moon Snail, Tectonatica pusilla, measuring only about ¼ inch.) Semisulcate Moon Snails have egg-shaped, almost always pure-white shells. The species distinguishing feature, other than its relatively small size, is the presence of 2­­­–6 incised (“etched”) spiral l

The Carib Fossaria

This week I hope to surprise you by presenting a local freshwater snail. The vast majority of the species treated in this column dwell either in the marine or brackish-water (estuaries, “backbay”) realms. Once in a blue moon I may introduce a local freshwater species, those living in very low salinity environments such as some of the local in-island ponds and ditches. The Carib Fossaria, Galba cubensis (Pfeiffer, 1839) is one of the locally found freshwater snails. A pulmonate snail, it breathes

The Olive Nerite

A rare find locally on Sanibel-Captiva, the Olive Nerite, Neritina usnea (Röding, 1798), is relatively common in other parts of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. The species is very variable in color and shape, but usually presents a pattern of closely set, wavy axial (“vertical”), dark lines against a light-olive background. The 0.6-inch shell in the photos was found on the beach of Captiva by Kimberly Nealon, on the first weekend after Hurricane Irma’s visit. Given that the species prefers to li

The Yellow-spot Scallop

I am including this entry for the Yellow-spot Scallop, Spathochlamys benedicti (Verrill & Bush [in Verrill], 1897), hoping to find from the readers of this column whether anyone has found it on local beaches. The species, which has a broad distribution in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean, is known from samples collected offshore of Sanibel, in depths around 90 feet. This species, at about 0.5 inches in size, is one of the smallest scallops from our part of the Gulf of Mexico. The shell has ab

The Tea Drillia

The Tea Drillia, Cerodrillia thea (Dall, 1884), is another local, small gastropod that may, due to its size, be missed by most casual shell seekers. Its shell reaches 0.5 inch in length, and is elongate and attractive. The shell sculpture consists of 7–9 slightly curved, axial (parallel to the main shell axis) ribs. The shell is light-brown (“tea-colored”), with a very thin grayish-green periostracum (outer, preteinaceous shell layer) present mostly between the axial ribs. The species belongs in

The Adams Miniature Cerith

The Adams Miniature Cerith, Seila adamsii (H.C. Lea, 1845), is a small gastropod not uncommon on the barrier islands of Southwest Florida. Its shell reaches 0.5 inch in length, and is slender, narrowly conical, with an elegant sculpture of three spiral cords. The shell color is orange to dark-brown. Despite its small size, Adams Miniature Ceriths are as handsome as some larger species. Casual beachcombers may walk the beaches for years and not notice them, but small shells and micromollusks repr

The Spiny Slipper Snail

The Spiny Slipper Snail, Bostrycapulus aculeatus (Gmelin, 1791), is the only local species of Slipper Snail (family Calyptraeidae) that displays distinctive sculptural features on its shell, in the form of scale-like spines, typically arranged along ribs that originate at the shell apex. The inch-long shell may be white, grayish, or brownish. As with other species of Slipper Snails, a shell septum separates the vital organs of the snail from its head and foot. The Spiny Slipper Snail, Bostrycapu

The Circular Chinese Hat

The Circular Chinese Hat, Calyptraea centralis (Conrad, 1841) is the least common among the local species of the Slipper Snail family Calyptraeidae. Its circular shell reaches about 0.5 in diameter; the apex on "top" of the shell is centrally located, and the shell "aperture" is represented by a sinuous (sigmoid), flaring shelf "under" the shell. The shell color is white or off-white, sometimes slightly translucent. As other members of the family, Circular Chinese Hats are filter-feeding marine

The Depressed Top Snail

The Depressed Top Snail, Calliostoma yucatecanum Dall, 1881 is a medium-sized (about 0.5 inch) species. Among the five local species of the family Calliostomatidae, the Depressed Top Snail is the one with the more depressed (wider in relation to the shell height, with a low spire) shell. The shell typically displays a sculpture of spiral cordlets, about 10–12 spiral on last whorl, 3–4 on periphery (the outer shell “rim”), 10 on base. The color is light brownish- or yellowish-cream, with large st

The Green Erato

The Green Erato, Hespererato maugeriae (J.E. Gray, 1832), is a species of the family Triviidae, a family also locally represented by the Coffee Bean Trivia, Niveria pediculus (Linnaeus, 1758) (this latter species was treated in this column three years ago). The Green Erato is a small species (about 0.2 inch), but one with a very attractive shell. The shell is pear-shaped, broader at the apex, tapering to a narrow, but blunt base. Outer lip thickened with tiny teeth. Color tan, yellowish, or gre