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.

Those Perfectly Clipped Lucines

Last June, my colleague malacologist Paula Mikkelsen sent an email inquiring about Tiger Lucines (Codakia orbicularis) found by a friend in the Bahamas. The shells were complete (two paired, attached valves), but in each case one of the valves was trimmed following a commarginal (“concentric”) pattern. The clams obviously grew a complete shell, but one of the valves was cut later to about half of its original diameter.Last week I received a similar inquiry from conchologist and friend Bev Doleza

Thrush Cowrie in the Florida Panhandle

The invasive Thrush Cowrie (Naria turdus) has been found off Panama City Beach, in the Florida Panhandle. In early July, diver and shell enthusiast Doug Thompson was diving inside a shipwreck located at a depth of 24 m (about 78’), when he found a “fresh dead” Thrush Cowrie shell. Doug reported that other divers had found the species living in the same area and off Destin, also in the Panhandle.  Originally from the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean, the tenacious invasive was first reported in t

Shell of the Week: The Giant Eastern Murex

Reaching in excess of 213 mm (about 8.4 inches), Hexaplex fulvescens is the largest murex species in the western Atlantic and one of the largest in the world’s oceans. Its massive shell is garnished with pointy spines and is very variable, appearing in tawny-brown, yellowish-brown, orangish, cream, and any number of variations of these colors (the Latin word fulvescens can be translated as “yellowish”). The species is found from North Carolina to Palm Beach County in Florida, and in the Gulf of

My Copycat Volute!

During a past Conchologists of America (CoA) convention in Florida, I mentioned casually to Brazilian shell dealer Marcus Coltro ("Femorale") that, as a museum professional, I opted not to have a shell collection, to avoid the perception of conflict of interest. I told him that I particularly missed not having any examples of the species I named. A few days later in the mail I received from Marcus and his brother José Coltro this great shell of the Copycat Volute (Odontocymbiola simulatrix Leal

Fish or Mollusk?

A sea slug that lives in open water, looks and swims like a fish, and glows in the dark? That is Phylliroe bucephala, a transparent, bioluminescent, three inches-long nudibranch gastropod. The sea slug swims in the upper layers of the open ocean, throughout the world’s tropical and subtropical regions. This great image above, by black-water diver and photographer Linda Ianniello, shows the sea slug feeding on a small jellyfish, possibly an Aequorea species. (Zoom in, and you can see three amphip

Shell of the Week: A Left-handed White Spot Marginella

This sinistral Prunum guttatum won the "Shell-of-the-Show, Self-collected" award at the Sanibel Shell Show (March 2024). It was part of an exhibit prepared by students and National Shell Museum & Aquarium volunteers Holt and Cabe Rieck. Their exhibit also won the Environmental Awareness Award at the show, as it dealt with the potential effects of temperature change on mollusks in the Florida Keys. Holt and Cabe collected this "one-in-a-million" shell at Loggerhead Beach at Bahia Honda Key.   #pr

Shell of the Week: The Dubious Volute

Aurinia dubia (Broderip, 1827) is the largest volute (family Volutidae) species in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, reaching 197 mm (about 7.8 inches) in length. The species has a relatively thin, tan-colored shell with sparse reddish-brown spots. The Dubious Volute can be found in relatively deep water, from 60 to 400 m (about 200 to 1,300 ft), from North Carolina south to both sides of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.#auriniadubia #scaphelladubia #volutidae #drytortugas

Another Great COA Convention!

The 2024 Convention of Conchologists of America (COA) was held last week at the Hilton Melbourne Hotel, in Melbourne, Florida. The National Shell Museum & Aquarium was represented by Executive Director Sam Ankerson, yours truly, and Marine Biologist Chris Whitt. I presented the talk “Life After the Flood: Exhibits Renovation at the National Shell Museum & Aquarium,” including an outline of the revamped displays in the Museum’s “Living Gallery” and a sneak preview of the exhibits planned for the

Unraveling the True Identity of the Florida Cone

On May 30, 2024 I published with colleagues Greg Herbert, Bill Fenzan, Aaron Avery, and Federico Márquez, an article setting the record straight as to the true identity of the Florida Cone (Conus anabathrum Crosse, 1865), a common local species in Southwest Florida. The article wsa introduced at the last meeting of Florida United Malacologists (FUM) last April, on Sanibel.Download the open-access article here:https://academic.oup.com/mollus/article/90/2/eyae019/7684639 

Shell of the Week: The McGinty’s Cone

Conasprella mcgintyi (Pilsbry, 1955) belongs to the so-called “mazei complex” of western Atlantic Conasprella, along with other species of cone snails displaying slender, elegant shells with relatively long spires. The species can be found off both sides of Florida and the Florida Keys. It differs from the more widespread Conasprella mazei by the more diffuse color pattern, among other features. The maximum reported size for the species is 52.2 mm (about 2 in). The shell illustrated was collecte