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 Smooth Duck Clam

The Smooth Duck Clam, Anatina anatina (Spengler, 1802), is a bivalve rarely found in Southwest Florida. It is a close relative of the more common Channeled Duck Clam, Raeta plicatella (Lamarck, 1818), with which it could be confused. Both have very thin, fragile shells, but the latter species, however, shows a sculpture of broader concentric ribs and more rounded outline. The Smooth Duck Clam, as other species of the family Mactridae, has its two long siphons (one sucks water in for filter-feedi

The Dark False Mussel

A brackish water bivalve mollusk native to the Gulf of Mexico, the Dark False Mussel, Mytilopsis leucophaeata Conrad, 1831 has been introduced to the mid-Atlantic American states, Europe, and south to northeastern Brazil, possibly via ballast water in ships or among living Oysters. Dark False Mussels have non-descript, light-colored shells that may grow to about ¾ inch. They may be found locally on Sanibel in brackish water ponds and in the canals at the eastern end of the island. The Mussels, w

The Florida Lyonsia

The Florida Lyonsia, Lyonsia floridana Conrad, 1849, is a relatively common bivalve in the estuaries of Southwest Florida, in particular in areas with dense, compact mud. The half-inch shell is very thin, fragile and translucent. The young attach themselves to broken shells or small pebbles, by a very slender bundle of fibers called byssus. Unlike what happens to sturdier clam shells, the delicate nature of the Florida Lyonsia renders preservation of its shell difficult after the death of the an

The Coffee Bean Trivia

The Coffee Bean Trivia, Niveria pediculus (Linnaeus, 1758), is another marine gastropod that can be found occasionally on the island beaches of Southwest Florida. Members of the trivia family, the Triviidae, closely resemble the beloved Cowries (family Cypraeidae), but differ in features of their anatomy and usually by having smaller shells with “wrinkled” sculpture (Cowries are usually very smooth and glossy.) Measuring at most about a half inch in length, Trivias generally feed on colonial as

The Florida Rock Snail

The Florida Rock Snail, Stramonita haemastoma floridana (Conrad, 1837), although relatively common in other parts of Florida, is locally uncommon. This happens because populations of the species need ample rock areas to thrive, and rocks are not prevalent on the barrier islands of Southwest Florida. Rock Snails in the genus Stramonita are known to feed on Oysters and Mussels and may be able to “attack” those prey in groups, to maximize feeding efficiency. Their feeding behaviors include chipping

The Mahogany Date Mussel

The Mahogany Date Mussel, Lithophaga bisulcata (d’Orbigny, 1853) is a rock-boring species, found in calcium carbonate substrates such as live or dead coral and other mollusk shells. The Date Mussel bores into the soft rock using special calcium carbonate-dissolving enzymes that are secreted from the anterior (blunt) end of the animal. The species typically has an elongate, thin-walled, cylindrical shell, which is tapered at its posterior end. A line divides the surface of each valve diagonally.

The Southern Quahog

The Southern Quahog, Mercenaria campechiensis (Gmelin, 1791), is a large member of the Venus Clam family Veneridae that may grow to be 6 inches in size. The Southern Quahog is often found in the shallow, sandy-mud flats of the local bays and protected areas, where it is one of the main food sources for large Horse Conchs and Lightning Whelks. The species is very similar to the Northern Quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria, with which it is known to hybridize in controlled aquaculture settings. (The Nor

The Tampa Bay Top Snail

The scientific name of the Tampa Bay Top Snail, Calliostoma tampaense (Conrad, 1846), pays tribute not only to the place where the species was first found (the specific name tampaense), but also to a shell attribute, via the genus name Calliostoma, the pearly, beautiful (Greek kalos) shell opening, or “mouth” (Greek stoma). Calliostoma top snails are mostly omnivorous or feed on organic detritus, or, more rarely, carnivorous. The Tampa Bay Top Snail never reaches beyond an inch in size and is th

The White Baby Ear

The White Baby Ear, Sinum perspectivum (Say, 1831), is a member of the Moon Snail family Naticidae. As other members of the family do, it feeds on other mollusks, in particular on small clams. This snail’s body is larger than its flattened shell, and the animal is not capable of completely withdrawing into it. The animal spends most of the time burrowed in the sandy bottom and, when fully expanded, its body completely envelops the shell. In addition, to help with burrowing, the White Baby Ear pr

The Nutmeg

The elegant Nutmeg, Cancellaria reticulata (Linnaeus, 1767), is one of the most coveted local species, always representing one of the “best finds” at the end of a successful shelling day. The species name evokes the reticulated shell sculpture and, although the Nutmeg’s food and feeding mechanisms remain unknown, the arrangement of the alimentary system suggests a diet of soft tissue or fluid. The Nutmeg belongs to the family Cancellariidae, a group of marine snails known to feed suctorially, “