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

Nov 23, 2018

The Cayenne and Meta Limpets

As suggested recently by a Museum friend, here is a brief comparison between the shells of two local (Southwest Florida) keyhole limpets. The Cayenne Keyhole Limpet, Diodora cayenensis, is on the top row, the Meta Keyhole Limpet, Diodora meta, on the bottom row. The Cayenne may reach about 25 mm (one inch) locally, whereas Meta may grow to be only half as much. Notice, (1) the color, almost completely absent in Meta; (2) the general outline, more “oval” in Cayenne, more elong

José H. Leal

Mar 27, 2015

The Cayenne Keyhole Limpet

The Cayenne Keyhole Limpet, Diodora cayenensis (Lamarck, 1822), is a Keyhole Limpet often found on the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva. Like most representatives of the Keyhole Limpet family, Fissurellidae, this species shows the typical keyhole-shaped orifice that serves to reroute waste water away from the head of the animal (see picture on the right). The shell has a sculpture of numerous radial riblets of which every third or fourth is larger. The animal feeds on microalga

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