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

Sep 19, 2014

The Florida Lyonsia

The Florida Lyonsia, Lyonsia floridana Conrad, 1849, is a relatively common bivalve in the estuaries of Southwest Florida, in particular in areas with dense, compact mud. The half-inch shell is very thin, fragile and translucent. The young attach themselves to broken shells or small pebbles, by a very slender bundle of fibers called byssus. Unlike what happens to sturdier clam shells, the delicate nature of the Florida Lyonsia renders preservation of its shell difficult after

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