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

Mar 11, 2016

The Spiny Paper Cockle

The Spiny Paper Cockle, Papyridea lata (Born, 1778), belongs to family Cardiidae, as do its larger and heavier cousins, the Spiny, Egg and Giant Cockles. Spiny Paper Cockle shells are not uncommon on the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva. The shell is relatively thin, delicate, with radial (oriented from the beak toward the shell margin) ribs that bear fine, saw-tooth-like scales. The species is closely related to Papyridea soleniformis (also known as a Spiny Paper Cockle), diff

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