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 1, 2016

The Atlantic Necklace Turrid

The Atlantic Necklace Turrid, Pilsbryspira monilis (Bartsch & Rehder, 1939), is a predatory gastropod, moderately uncommon on Sanibel and Captiva islands. The species reaches about 15 mm (0.6 inch); the shell is slender, brown, with small white beads forming a spiral “necklace-like” pattern (hence the scientific name of the species, monilis, meaning necklace, or string of beads, in Latin.) The Atlantic Necklace Turrid shell aperture (opening) forms an indentation at its post

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Curator's Corner