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

May 29, 2020

The Stylish Antillean File Clam

File clams (family Limidae) are marine bivalve mollusks with oval shells that resemble “distorted,” or asymmetrical, scallops. There about 130 species in the family. Most file clams are able to use their tentacles to engage in short bursts of irregular swimming, and some species can build cocoon-like nests for protection. The Antillean File Clam, Limaria pellucida (C.B. Adams, 1848), (photo) reaches 25 mm (about one inch), has a thin whitish shell, and relatively large, trans

Shell of the Week: The Antillean File Clam

José H. Leal

Jan 18, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Antillean File Clam

Limaria pellucida (C.B. Adams, 1848) reaches 25 mm (one inch), and has, like most species in the family Limidae, an oval-elongate shell that resembles a “distorted,” or asymmetrical, scallop. The shell is thin-walled, translucent-white, with many narrow radial ribs of irregular width and distribution. The hinge “ears” have about the same size. The clam has salmon-pink gills and relatively large translucent-white tentacles festooned with white “rings” over their entire length.

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Curator's Blog

The Stylish Antillean File Clam

Shell of the Week: The Antillean File Clam