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 Amazing Cuttlefish Eye

[I published this blog piece originally on June 25, 2021. Since then, it became the most read item in the “Curator’s Corner.” Here it is again, for your enjoyment.]The wavy, or w-shaped cuttlefish eye has been recently in the news, as scientists keep researching the unique features and properties of cephalopod eyes. Cuttlefish eyes can perform functions that are similar to those in vertebrates, such as the refined three-dimensional vision that allows them to accurately estimate distance and spee

Shell of the Week: The Caribbean Piddock-clam

Pholadomya candida is a very rare bivalve that is more closely related to fossil species than to most living clams. Shells of the species have been collected in a few localities of the Caribbean Sea. The species was first reported alive in the 1800s, then only again in the early 2000s when it was found off the coast of Colombia and communicated in The Nautilus by Juan Manuel Díaz and colleagues. We have only one complete specimen in the Museum collection, collected in 1999 off the coast of Venez

Shell of the Week: The Obscure Dwarf Triton

Colubraria testacea is a marine snail that grows to about 50 mm (about 2 inches). Colubraria species are found in tropical shallow seas and are known to feed (usually at night) on blood from reef fish, in particular parrot fishes of the family Scaridae. The western Atlantic Obscure Dwarf Triton is found from eastern Florida south to the Caribbean and the coast of eastern Brazil and, as the vernacular name suggests, resembles a small triton shell.#colubrariatestacea #obscuredwarftriton #colubrari

The Mighty Queen Helmet

Cassis madagascariensis is one of the largest species of mollusks living in the shallow, clean waters of the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, including Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. This spectacular mollusk, which can reach more than 40 cm (about 16 inches) in length, is a member of the family Cassidae of helmet and bonnet snails.As shown in the photo above, helmet snails feed on sea urchins and sea biscuits such as the Long-spined Sea Biscuit (Plagiobrissus grandis). During feeding, Queen Hel

Shell of the Week: The Atlantic Gray Cowrie

The Atlantic Gray Cowrie (Luria cinerea) is a relatively common species of Cowrie inhabiting shallow coral reef areas in the tropical western Atlantic. The species is not found, however, on the coast of Southwest Florida. As happens with most species from the cowrie family (Cypraeidae), the Atlantic Gray Cowrie bears planktonic larvae. Their offspring drift in the sea until metamorphosis to their adult, bottom-crawling lives.The larval shell is very distinctive from the adult one in this and oth

What’s in a Name?

I normally don’t bother you with this type of minutia, but here is a name change that affects an important (iconic, why not?) local species in Southwest Florida. Strombus alatus Gmelin, 1791, the Florida Fighting Conch, was shown to be the same species as the West Indian Fighting Conch, Strombus pugilis Linnaeus, 1758. This latter name was traditionally applied to populations of the East Coast, Keys, and Caribbean. Strombus pugilis is the older name of the two, so it is the one retained for the

Shell of the Week: The Blood Ark

Lunarca ovalis is an ark clam that stands out because of its heavy fur-like periostracum, or outermost shell layer. Reaching 64 mm (about 2.5 inches), its shell is inflated, oval, and is almost as long as it is high, being one of the shorter ark clams in Florida. As with most members of the family Arcidae, the shell bears a number of radial ribs. The vernacular (“common”) name of this species refers to the color of its blood, imparted by the presence of a form of hemoglobin. The latter helps imp

Shell of the Week: The Four-ribbed Lucine

Pleurolucina leucocyma reaches 7 mm (about 0.28 inch) in length. Its shell is unusually shaped (like a "warped triangle”) and bears 3 or 4 thick radial ribs crossed by fine commarginal (“concentric”) lines. The color is cream to off-white. The species is found off North Carolina, both coasts of Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and the Bahamas. #pleurolucinaleucocyma #lucinidae #drytortugas #lucinaleucocyma

Glowing Jewel Boxes

Ultraviolet (UV) light ("black light") reveals residual color patterns in fossil mollusk shells that would otherwise go undetected. UV light can also excite certain shell layers in different ways, as shown in this image of the inside of the two valves of a fossil Caribbean Spiny Jewel Box (Arcinella arcinella). (Photos of the valves under natural light are given for comparison.) While most of the internal surface of the valves glow a bright purple color, both adductor muscle scars and the pallia

Princess Margaret and Shells

Princess Margaret (The Countess of Snowdon, 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) of the United Kingdom. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II.  Robert Tucker Abbott (September 28, 1919 – November 3, 1995) was an American malacologist, author of dozens of shell-themed books, and Founding Director of our Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, as it was named back then. Through his writings, Tucker ins