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

Oct 20, 2017

The Olive Nerite

A rare find locally on Sanibel-Captiva, the Olive Nerite, Neritina usnea (Röding, 1798), is relatively common in other parts of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. The species is very variable in color and shape, but usually presents a pattern of closely set, wavy axial (“vertical”), dark lines against a light-olive background. The 0.6-inch shell in the photos was found on the beach of Captiva by Kimberly Nealon, on the first weekend after Hurricane Irma’s visit. Given that the s

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The Olive Nerite