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

Nov 27, 2020

Beyond Shells: The Giant Rock Scallop

The Giant Rock Scallop, Crassadoma gigantea, is another nice highlight from the cold-water touch pool at the Museum. The fact that many species of scallops can swim, relying on bursts of jet-propelled water, always comes up when we talk about the cool things mollusks do for a living. But Giant Rock Scallops are large scallops that don’t swim, spending instead their adult lives attached to hard surfaces such as rocks. Like their swimming relatives, Giant Rock Scallops have a l

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Curator's Corner