Curator's Blog

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

Feb 19, 2021

Spotted Slipper Snail Eggs

Last week, Museum collaborator and Shell Ambassador Amy Tripp (Marco Island, Florida) brought to my attention a slipper snail she photographed at nearby Kice Island. The photo doesn’t show much of the shell, but clearly portrays a mass of egg capsules containing developing embryos. As I peeked at the photo, my first thought was “hmm, this is a female Common Atlantic Slipper, Crepidula fornicata, brooding her eggs.” However, a quick estimate of the number of eggs in each capsu

José H. Leal

Feb 21, 2020

Sea Slug Highlight: The Ragged Sea Hare

Bursatella leachii pleii (Rang, 1828) reaches 80 mm (3.15 inches) in parts of its geographic range in the western Atlantic. The vernacular (common) name derives from the presence of characteristic branched papillae, which impart a “disheveled” aspect to the slug. The species lacks the parapodia (wing-like expansions) that are typical of the larger sea hares in the genus Aplysia. It also completely lacks a shell in the adult stage (a shell is present in the larva and juveniles

José H. Leal

Jul 13, 2018

The i-Conic Alphabet Cone

With their colorful shells, Alphabet Cones, Conus spurius Gmelin, 1791, are one of the most celebrated local mollusks in Southwest Florida. Alphabet Cones hatch from egg capsules, swim only for a couple of hours at most, then settle to the bottom as young adults. The photos of the larval Alphabet Cones were taken just after hatching and published for the first time in a 2017 American Malacological Bulletin article by National Shell Museum staff (José H. Leal and Rebecca Mensc

José H. Leal

Jun 1, 2018

The Lightning Whelk, Part 2

Last week I discussed some of the distinguishing features of and cool facts about the Lightning Whelk, Sinistrofulgur sinistrum (Hollister, 1958). Today I want to explore certain aspects of the reproduction in this celebrated species. As with most of the large, predatory marine snails, Lightning Whelks have separate sexes, and females lay eggs inside protective egg capsules. Each egg capsule may contain a few dozen eggs, and capsules are attached to each other through a strin

José H. Leal

Dec 4, 2015

The Bruised Nassa and its Egg Capsules

I last covered the Bruised Nassa, Nassarius vibex (Say, 1822), in this column on September 4, 2015. On that occasion, I mentioned that the habitats preferred by the species are the sandy-mud and mud flats of the back-bay areas that are so common in our part of the coast. I also mentioned the scavenging feeding habits of the species: Bruised Nassas are like “little vultures,” gathering in large numbers to feed on the dead bodies and remains of small marine creatures. Recently,

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Curator's Blog

Spotted Slipper Snail Eggs

Sea Slug Highlight: The Ragged Sea Hare

The i-Conic Alphabet Cone

The Lightning Whelk, Part 2

The Bruised Nassa and its Egg Capsules