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

Jun 12, 2020

The Enigma of Hidden Colors

Colors in animals are almost always linked to visual behaviors and species interactions. Bright colors and patterns on mollusks may help, for instance, attract a mate, warn a predatory fish of a foul-tasting or poisonous sea slug, or camouflage a snail against its habitat. We expect that most colors “serve a purpose” based on another animal, “friend or foe,” being able to see those colors. But what if pigments are present inside a clam shell, in an area that is never seen by

José H. Leal

Dec 20, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Florida Lucine

Another local member of the widespread family Lucinidae, Stewartia floridana (Conrad, 1833) grows to about 28 mm (about 1.1 inch). The shell outline is circular, with a squarish, truncated posterior end. The shell surface is smooth, and the external sculpture consists of coarse, irregular growth lines. The thin, brownish periostracum (external, brownish layer) is present in well-preserved shells. Commonly found on the back-bay areas of Sanibel and Captiva. #lucinidae #florida

José H. Leal

Dec 13, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Thick Lucine

At up to 60 mm (about 2.4 inch), Phacoides pectinatus (Gmelin, 1791) is one of the largest local members of the family Lucinidae. Its shell outline is circular, with a squarish, truncated posterior end (on left of the photos.) The shell surface is chalky, and the external sculpture consists of coarse, irregular ridges. The thin, brownish periostracum (external, brownish layer) is present in well-preserved shells. The color is white, and sometimes the internal surface of the s

José H. Leal

Dec 6, 2019

The Three-ridged Lucine

Measuring about 7 mm (about 0.28 inch), Cavilinga blanda (Dall, 1901) is another small local member of the family Lucinidae. The outline of its shell is oval, but skewed to one side, with the shell beak pointing in an anterior direction. The shell color is white, its surface is glossy, bearing a sculpture of regular commarginal lines. The internal lining of the valves is sometimes “delaminated,” flaking off. Not commonly found, possibly because of its small size. The shell il

Shell of the Week: The Many-lined Lucine

José H. Leal

Nov 29, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Many-lined Lucine

At about 6 mm (about 0.24 inch), Parvilucina crenella (Dall, 1901) is one of the smallest local members of the family Lucinidae. Its shell is small, with a delicate sculpture of sculpture of narrow ribs superimposed by commarginal (“concentric”) threads of about the same width as the ribs. The internal margin of valves is crenulated (“wavy”). Shell color is white. This species was in the past known as “Lucina multilineata”. Not commonly found, possibly because of its small si

Shell of the Week: The Dosinia-like Lucine

José H. Leal

Nov 15, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Dosinia-like Lucine

Callucina keenae (Chavan, 1971) is another local member of the family Lucinidae. The species was named after the late West Coast malacologist Angelina Myra Keen. Its common name evokes a superficial similarity to species in the genus Dosinia, in particular the pure white color, glossy shell surface, and presence of well-defined commarginal (“concentric”) ribs. True Dosinia species, however, are members of the venus clams family Veneridae, which can be separated by the arrange

Shell of the Week: The Dwarf Tiger Lucine

José H. Leal

Nov 8, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Dwarf Tiger Lucine

Ctena orbiculata (Montagu, 1808) is so called because its circular- oval shape, whitish color, and sculpture of coarser radiating lines crossed by concentric threads somehow resemble those on the Tiger Lucine, Codakia orbicularis. In contrast to the latter species, the valves of Dwarf Tiger Lucines are never pink internally. Although not very common, the species certainly occurs in Southwest Florida. The complete shell in the photo was collected in 1964, by William C. Brumbac

José H. Leal

Nov 1, 2019

Shell of the Week: The Tiger Lucine

Codakia orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) reaches 85 mm (about 3.35 inch), and has a circular-oval shell. The shell sculpture consists of radial lines crossed by finer commarginal (concentric) threads. The shells color is white, with the internal shell surface sometimes yellow, and internal margins sometimes tinged with pink color. This is a common species in the tropical Western Atlantic, including the East Coast of Florida and the Florida Keys. Although there is a good record fr

José H. Leal

Nov 16, 2018

The Miniature Lucine

At about 10 mm (about 0.4-inch) the Miniature Lucine, Radiolucina amianta (Dall, 1901), is one of the smallest among many species of the family Lucinidae found along the barrier islands of SW Florida. There are at least 13 lucinid species found on local beaches—the Buttercup Lucine, Anodontia alba, is probably the best known among them. Lucinid clams are known to host chemosynthetic bacteria in their body tissues; these bacteria derive their life energy from simple chemical r

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