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

Oct 5, 2018

The Slender Eulima

The Slender Eulima, Melanella hypsela (Verril & Bush, 1900) is one of the locally found species of parasitic snails in the family Eulimidae, which usually live embedded in the bodies of sea cucumbers, sand dollars, sea stars, and other echinoderms. Its shell may reach 8 mm (about 0.3 inch), and is delicate, straight-sided, with a minute protoconch. As with many members of the Eulimidae, shells of live snails (or fresh-dead) are translucent or transparent, becoming opaque afte

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Curator's Corner