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 Yellow Prickly Cockle

The Yellow Prickly Cockle, Dallocardia muricata (Linnaeus, 1758) is one of eight locally found species of the bivalve family Cardiidae. Its shells are roughly circular, measure up to 1.5–2 inches in length, and bear a number of radial ribs, each rib displaying a large number of small scales. This feature is shared with another, closely related local species, the Florida Prickly Cockle. This latter bivalve, however, has a more elongate shell, with colors ranging from white to pinkish-purple, whil

The Antillean Tusk Shell

Tusk shells belong in the molluscan class Scaphopoda, and are so named because they resemble small elephant tusks. The Antillean Tusk Shell, Antalis antillaris (d’Orbigny, 1853) is one of several local members of the family Dentaliidae. Its shell reaches about a half-inch in length, and is ornamented by longitudinal ridges, which are separated by grooves containing translucent “windows” of thinner shell material of unknown function. The local tusk shells are being studied by Shell Museum’s marin

The Ladder Horn Snail

The Ladder Horn Snail, Cerithideopsis scalariformis (Say, 1825), is one of two local members of the family Potamididae. Its shell reaches about one inch in length, and is ornamented by a sculpture of 20–26 slanted, axial ribs per whorl. The ribs stop abruptly at a single, well-defined spiral cord located at the shell suture (line separating two adjacent whorls). The shell lip is typically white with two or three brown bands anteriorly (closer to the shell base). This species inhabits back-bay ar

The Brown-line Niso

This shell of the Brown-line Niso, Niso aeglees Bush, 1885, is, so far, a one-of-a-kind find for the islands of Sanibel and Captiva (see below). This conical shell measures about 10 mm (about 0.4 inch), and is usually smooth or glossy, presenting no sculpture or ornamentations. Its color is whitish, with a thin red-brown band just above suture (groove separating two adjacent whorls). The species is known to occur in deeper water in the Gulf of Mexico, but this shell was found by Steve Rosenthal

The Gem Cyclostreme

At about 3.5 mm (about 1/8 inch) in size, the Gem Cyclostreme, Arene tricarinata (Stearns, 1872) is one of the small gastropods found along the shores of the Southwest Florida. The species is one of the smallest members of the family Areneidae, a group of mollusks present in the world’s tropical and subtropical seas. The ending of the species name, tricarinata, derives from the Latin for “three-keeled,” an allusion to the spiral ridges present on the periphery (outer edge) of the shell. The Gem

The Pennsylvania Lucine

The Pennsylvania Lucine, Lucina pensylvanica (Linnaeus, 1758) is relatively common on the eastern coast of Florida, but no so common along the shores of the Southwest Florida. The shell of this member of the family Lucinidae may reach 2 inches in length. It is circular, with marked, irregularly distributed commarginal (“concentric”) growth lines and a strong posterior groove. The color is dirt-white, sometimes with hints of light brown imparted by the delicate periostracum. Its periostracum cons

The West Indian False Cerith

The West Indian False Cerith, Lampanella minima (Gmelin, 1791), is the only representative of the gastropod family Batillariidae in Florida. (The species was, until recently, included in the genus Batillaria.) This species, which may reach a little tad under an inch in length, is extremely abundant in and around the intertidal (“between tide lines”) and supralittoral (“above the high tide line”) zones of mangroves in South and Southwest Florida. Populations of the species may form large aggregat

The Atlantic Fat Tellin

The Atlantic Fat Tellin, Leporimetis intastriata (Say, 1827), belongs to the Tellinidae, a family of bivalves that includes many species worldwide, and with at least 15 species locally. Fat Tellins are relatively large, reaching about 3 inches in length. They share the “curved” profile characteristic of members of the family, with the left valve slightly concave and the right one convex (This is shown in the bottom image, where the left valve is below the right one). In addition, the right valve

The Atlantic Kitten Paw

The Atlantic Kitten Paw, Plicatula gibbosa Lamarck, 1801, is a bivalve commonly found on the beaches of Southwest Florida (and along the entire coast of the Sunshine State). Its vernacular name derives from the shell shape and, most likely, from its color pattern. It is not unusual for shellers to find complete shells (paired valves) of this inch-long species. Sometimes it is very difficult to separate the valves of a complete shell, not only because they are naturally very well adjusted to each

The Atlantic Wing Oyster

The Atlantic Wing Oyster, Pteria colymbus (Röding, 1798), gets its common name from the expansions on its shell, which are technically known as auricles. Atlantic Wing Oysters are commonly found living in association with Sea Whips and other gorgonians, to which they attach using a bundle of fibers called the byssus. Its shell may grow to about 2–2.5 inches. Shells are brownish, with rays of lighter color. The shell on young individuals shows auricles that are relatively larger than those of adu