Curator's Corner

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

Jan 29, 2021

Shell of the Week: The Striate Caecum

Another small (and neglected) local species of the family Caecidae (the caecums), Caecum striatum de Folin, 1868 has a tubular shell that rarely reaches beyond 2.5 mm (about 0.1 inch). The shell is sometimes covered with a thin, light-brown periostracum. The shell sculpture in this species shows a number of lengthwise, delicate lines. The shell aperture (opening) is devoid of any ornaments or rings. The shell "plug" is blunt, hemispherical. The shell color is white. The image

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