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 9, 2015

The Specter Clam

Most bivalve mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters, etc.) are filter-feeders, straining large amounts of water to get their food, usually microscopic plants (phytoplankton). Exceptions to this are marine bivalves that prey on small critters such as crustaceans. These clams, known as septibranch bivalves, use a flexible, muscular "wall", or septum, which acts as a pump, creating a sudden negative pressure that sucks in nearby prey. The Specter Clam, Dilemma spectralis Leal, 2008,

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Curator's Corner