Curator's Corner

Museum, research, and collection updates from Dr. José H. Leal, plus Shell of the Week, which highlights a different species every Friday. Most Shells of the Week—but not all—are found in Southwest Florida.

Dr. José H. Leal serves as the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum’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. Under his leadership, the Museum was awarded its first accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2010.

José H. Leal

Jan 8, 2021

Shell of the Week: The Antillean Caecum

Giving continuation to local species of the family Caecidae, today I present the Antillean Caecum, Caecum antillarum Carpenter, 1858. The small, curved, tube-like shell in this species is smooth, glossy in well-preserved specimens, and measures only up to 3.5 mm (about 0.14 inch). The structure opposite the aperture (shell opening), called the apical plug, is dome-shaped, hemispheric; shell color is white. The shell in the image was collected in 1998 by Lois Dunnam, at Gulfsi

José H. Leal

Apr 3, 2020

Shell of the Week: The Dog-head Triton

Ranularia cynocephala (Lamarck, 1816) has a sturdy shell that reaches 70 mm (about 2.8 inches). The shell has squarish whorls, a long siphonal canal that may be recurved, and may bear a varix, which denotes the occurrence of a growth stop). The shell sculpture consists of strong spiral cords crossed by weaker axial ribs. The outer lip of the shell aperture is garnished internally with 7 strong, white teeth. The shell color is usually golden-brown, often with a whitish spiral

José H. Leal

Feb 21, 2020

The Atlantic Fig and Her Egg Capsules

The Atlantic Fig Snail, Ficus papyratia (Say, 1822), makes a thin shell that is shaped like a slender fig or pear. The shell opening, or aperture, tapers gently toward the end of the anterior canal. The shell color is pinkish-gray to light-tan, and is sculptured with a delicate net-like pattern. The animal is cream-colored with dark and whitish spots. The photo of the live fig snail above was taken in 2015 on Kice Island, Collier County, Florida, by Amy Tripp. The snail’s man

Shell of the Week: The Stearns Dove Snail

José H. Leal

Oct 11, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Stearns Dove Snail

At only 5 mm (about 0.2 in inch) in maximum size, Aesopus stearnsii (Tryon, 1883), is one of the smallest members of the dove snail family Columbellidae found on the beaches of Southwest Florida. Its shell is relatively slender for the family, with the aperture (opening) spanning about 1/3 to ¼ of shell length. The shell sculpture shows very narrow, etched spiral lines. The color is cream color, usually with a faint orange-brown band just below the suture (the line separating

Shell of the Week: The Florida Vitrinella

José H. Leal

Aug 30, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Florida Vitrinella

Vitrinella floridana Pilsbry & McGinty, 1946 is a very small species of the family Tornidae, that barely reaches 2 mm (about 0.8 inch) in diameter. The shell is smooth, totaling only about 3.5 whorls, with an open umbilicus, and the callus is absent. The shell is compressed, with the apex projecting only slightly, the whorl profile rounded, and the aperture oblique. The shell color in the Florida Vitrinella is translucent-white. The shell illustrated was collected in 2002 by

Shell of the Week - The Hidden-spire Vitrinella

José H. Leal

Aug 23, 2019

Shell of the Week - The Hidden-spire Vitrinella

This species is actually the Hidden-spire Vitrinella, Teinostoma cryptospira (A.E. Verrrill, 1884), not the Trifle Vitrinella, Teinostoma lerema, as identified in the original posting. At 2 mm (0.08 inch) maximum size, the Hidden-spire Vitrinella is one of the smallest members of the family Tornidae in Florida. The suture (line where two successive whorls join) in this species is not very visible, not forming a distinct line on the shell surface. The shell surface is smooth,

Shell of the Week: The Terminal Vitrinella

José H. Leal

Jun 28, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Terminal Vitrinella

Originally described from Destin, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Solariorbis terminalis (Pilsbry & McGinty, 1946) is yet another member of the microgastropod family Tornidae found also along the coast of Southwest Florida. Larger shells of the species reach only 2.5 mm (about 0.1 inch). The shell has a low spire, the suture is well-defined, and the last whorl is rounded at the periphery (outer shell “edge”). The sculpture includes 4–5 spiral cords along the shell periphery. Th

José H. Leal

Mar 1, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Plicate Mangelia

At 6 mm in length, Pyrgocythara plicosa (C.B. Adams, 1850) is one of the local small-sized gastropods. The shell is elongate-fusiform, with the spire (coiled part minus last whorl) measuring about half shell length. The sculpture consists of 11−12 strong axial ribs crossed by about 5−6 spiral cords. The aperture has a strong indentation on the internal side of outer lip, and shell color is light-brown to reddish-brown, with bluish-white remnants of a periostracum. The Plicat

José H. Leal

Feb 22, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Stearns Dove Snail

At only 5 mm (0.2 in inch) in maximum size, Aesopus stearnsii Tryon, 1843, is one of the smallest members of the dove snail family Columbellidae found on the beaches of Southwest Florida. Its shell is relatively slender for the family, with the aperture (opening) spanning about 1/3 to ¼ of shell length. The shell sculpture shows very narrow, etched spiral lines. The color is cream color, usually with a faint orange-brown band just below the suture (the line separating two who

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