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 16, 2015

The Tiny Dwarf Olive

The Tiny Dwarf Olive, Olivella pusilla (Marrat, 1871), is a local species found in relative abundance on sandy-mud bottoms and mud flats. Dwarf Olives used to be united with “normal-size” Olives in the family Olividae, but details of the anatomy and DNA separate them into their own family, the Olivellidae. The shell is up to 8 mm (about ¼ inch) in size, bullet-shaped, with about 5 whorls, and short spire. The color pattern in this species is very variable, but usually include

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Curator's Blog

The Tiny Dwarf Olive