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.

Shell of the Week: The Fingerprint Cyphoma

José H. Leal

May 6, 2022

Shell of the Week: The Fingerprint Cyphoma

Cyphoma signatumPilsbry and McGinty, 1939 reaches about 40 mm. The elongate shell has blunt ends, Color buff with faint pinkish-orange tinges above and below the whitish dorsal ridge (the transversal “swelling” on the back of the shell.) The mantle of the living snail has elongated black markings set on a yellowish background, the resulting pattern resembling fingerprints. The shell differs from Cyphoma intermedium by more elongate shape, heavier, well-defined dorsal ridge an

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Curator's Corner