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

Aug 14, 2015

The Fargo Worm Snail

The Fargo Worm Snail, Vermicularia fargoi Olsson, 1951, is a gastropod with a shell that starts regularly coiled until it is about an inch long. From then on, the shell then becomes uncoiled, acquiring its typical, irregular shape. The shell “tube” is about 3/8” in diameter. Shells of the Fargo Worm Snail are fairly common along the beaches of Southwest Florida, and so are those of a close living relative previously portrayed in this column, the Florida Worm Snail, Vermicula

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The Fargo Worm Snail