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

May 4, 2018

The One-banded Wentletrap

The One-banded Wentletrap, Epitonium unifasciatum (G.B. Sowerby II, 1844), is one of the less common among the 9 species of wentletraps (family Epitoniidae) found on Sanibel-Captiva. Its shell rarely surpasses 13 mm (about 0.5 inch), and is festooned with 7–10 costae (“ribs”) that are joined from one whorl to the next. The species name alludes to the narrow, light-brown band present below the suture. The shell in the photos is a juvenile, lacking a well-defined brown band. It

José H. Leal

Dec 8, 2017

The Brown-band Wentletrap

When looking at three years' worth of Shells of the Week in my files, I was surprised to see that I hadn't yet covered the Brown-band Wentletrap, Gyroscala rupicola (Kurz, 1860), a not-uncommon local species. The shell is elongate-conical, reaching 20 mm (about 0.8 inch). The main shell sculpture consists of very thin, narrow ribs (or costae), with occasional thicker ones apparently randomly interspersed. The color is cream or light brown, with two spiral bands of darker brow

José H. Leal

Dec 1, 2017

The Tollin Wentletrap

Tollin Wentletrap, Epitonium tollini Bartsch, 1938, is one of the less common among the eight recognized species of local Wentletraps. Measuring a tad more than 0.5 inch in size, it differs from the more common Angulate and Humphrey Wentletraps by its slender shape, with a more acute spire angle (the angle formed by the “sides” of the shell.) The costae (“blades”) that comprise the bulk of the shell sculpture line up nicely along successive shell whorls. The operculum (“trapd

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