Museum, research, and collection updates from Dr. José H. Leal, plus Shell of the Week, which highlights a different species every other Friday. Most Shells of the Week are found in Southwest Florida.
Dr. José H. Leal serves as the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium’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.
Here is yet another episode of the “Family Pages” series: There at least 8 species of melampus and their relatives (family Ellobiidae) associated with mangrove ecosystems along the coast of Southwest Florida; here they are: 1 – Left-handed Melampus (Blauneria heteroclita); 2 – Amber Melampus (Creedonia succinea); 3 – White Melampus (Ellobium dominicense); 4 – Eastern Melampus (Melampus bidentatus); 5 – Bubble Melampus (Melampus bullaoides); 6 – Coffee Melampus (…
Turbo jourdani is one of the largest species of turban shells, reaching at least 20 cm (about 8 inches). The Jourdan’s Turban is geographically restricted to western and southern Australia. This shell, displayed with its massive operculum, is species number 52 in the new “Global Distribution” exhibit of our renovated “Great Hall of Shells”. Don’t miss it! …
After almost three years of planning, design, and fabrication, the central exhibits area of the Great Hall of Shells is open to the public. The Hall had been closed since Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sanibel in September 2002. Actual harm from the storm to the exhibits was negligible, but repair to water damage to the walls required removal of many exhibits. The time was ripe for much-needed renovation anyway. Executive Director Sam Ankerson decided to tackle the challenge head-on. Phase One of the Great Hall of Shells. Photo: José…
In another episode of our “Family Pages” series, check out the great diversity of the family Tellinidae along the coast of Southwest Florida. There are at least 14 species locally: 1 – Sibling Tellin (Ameritella consobrina); 2 – Slandered Tellin (Ameritella probrina); 3 – Texas Tellin (Ameritella texana); 4 – Constricted Macoma (Austromacoma constricta); 5 – Alternate Tellin (Eurytellina alternata); 6 – Rose Petal Tellin (Eurytellina lineata): 7 – Atlantic Fat Tellin (Leporimetis ephippium); 8 – Elongated Macoma (Macoploma tenta); 9 –…
Calliostoma hendersoni reaches 23 mm (a little less than an inch) in diameter. As with many other deep-water species of top snails (family Calliostomatidae) from the western Atlantic, this one has a very elegant shell. The base has reddish-brown spiral lines against a cream-colored background, a narrow but deep umbilicus, and the spire presents a slightly concave profile in lateral view. Most distinctively, Henderson’s Top Snail has a series of relatively large spots along the shell periphery (the outermost shell “edge”). The species lives in moderately deep water: this specimen…
There are more than 20 species of Venus clams (family Veneridae) living in shallow water along the coast of Southwest Florida; here are 14 of them: 1 – Pointed Venus (Anomalocardia cuneimeris); 2 – Florida Cross-barred Venus (Chione elevata); 3 – Lady-in-waiting Venus (Chionopsis intapurpurea); 4 – Atlantic Petricolid (Choristodon robustus); 5 – Thin Cyclinella (Cyclinella tenuis); 5 – Elegant Dosinia (Dosinia concentrica); 7 – Disk Dosinia (Dosinia discus); 8 – Imperial Venus (Lirophora varicosa); 9 – Calico Clam (Megapitaria maculata); …
Social media has been abuzz with the recent first-time confirmed observation and filming of a Colossal Squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) at 600 m (about 1,970 feet) depth off the South Sandwich Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The observation and video were made last March 9 by scientists working aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor. The juvenile Colossal Squid. ©Schmidt Ocean Institute The individual squid in the video clip is a juvenile measuring only 30 cm (about 12 inches), but Colossal Squids may reach 7 meters (about 23…
Cerithiella sigsbeana is a small gastropod of the family Newtoniellidae that reaches only 13 mm (about 0.5 inch). Its elongate shell is adorned with four beaded spiral cords (“ridges”). The specimen is catalogued as Cerithiella cf. sigsbeana in the Museum collection. After a consultation with Dr Mauricio Fernandes (a marine biologist at Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a specialist of the Newtoniellidae), he suggested that this species could be a variation extreme of C. sigsbeana, with very pronounced beads on the spiral cord;…
Our volunteer extraordinaire Dr Tom Annesley returned this week from guiding one of the National Shell Museum & Aquarium Wednesday Beach Walks with a shell fragment that he correctly identified as a portion of the spire of an Alphabet Cone (Conus spurius) shell. The fragment is 33.8 mm (1.33 inch) in its largest dimension. Conus spurius fragment found by Dr Tom Annesley Inside the fragment, one can see parts of the older whorls (red arrows) that were enveloped by subsequent shell growth. But the rests of the “walls” of…
Slipper snails (family Calyptraeidae) are often neglected by beachcombers and shell enthusiasts. Accordingly, here are the slipper snails you may find on the coast of Southwest Florida, including Sanibel and Captiva islands: 1 – Spiny Slipper Snail (Bostrycapulus aculeatus); 2 – Circular Chinese Hat (Calyptraea centralis); 3 – Black-foot Slipper Snail (Crepidula atrasolea); 4 – Depressed Slipper Snail (Crepidula depressa); 5 – Common Atlantic Slipper Snail (Crepidula fornicata); 6 – Spotted Slipper Snail (Crepidula maculosa); 7 – Little Speckled…